Pathfinder
Editor, Senior Moderator
School absences increase with swine flu scare
September 25, 2009 8:18 AM
Katie Tammen
People are worried about the swine flu.
They want to know the signs, how to prevent it and what officials are doing about it. Parents with children in public schools want to know even more, specifically why they aren?t receiving information about infected students who attend school with their children.
?I understand that they don?t want to scare people, but what about the kids who really have it and the kids that could get it?? asked parent Matt Clance, whose son is home with the flu. ?I think that they should notify parents and let the parents be the judge of whether or not their children should be in the school because those are our children.?
The main reason letters aren?t going home is that the illness is so widespread that health officials no longer document every case the H1N1 virus.
In fact, unless a patient meets very specific criteria, doctors are testing patients only to confirm whether they are infected with an influenza virus, not which type of virus, said Dr. Karen Chapman, director of the Okaloosa County Health Department.
However, the current assumption is that 99 percent of the people who test positive for Influenza A have the H1N1 virus, because none of the other variations of Influenza A are circulating in the area. That means even if a parent calls a school and said their doctor said their child has the swine flu, school officials have no way to confirm it.
Schools also don?t alert parents every time a student because the calls and letters would be non-stop.
?We have cases of the flu at every school throughout the school district, and it?s in the community,? said Kaye McKinley, deputy superintendent of schools in Okaloosa County. ?We would be notifying parents daily because daily we have parents calling us to say their kids have the swine flu.?
On Sept. 18, for example, more than 15 percent of Pryor Middle School?s 579 students were absent. The following Monday, about 11 percent of them were absent.
Neighboring Santa Rosa County has a similar notification method. The school district sent out a second batch of brochures to parents with basic information about H1N1 influenza and how to prevent it.
On the advice of the county health department, individual schools in Santa Rosa that are hit hard will alert parents to the upswing, but parents won?t receive a notice every time a student stays home with a temperature, said Conni Carnley, the school district?s director of middle school education.
At this point, the district as a whole is not seeing tremendous absenteeism, but has experienced pockets of illness. Earlier this week at Navarre High School, 400 of the school?s 1,800 students were absent on the same day, said Bill Price, assistant superintendent for instruction.
Walton County schools also have more absences, but officials see it as slightly positive because it means parents are following their advice and keeping children home when they are sick, said Superintendent of Schools Carlene Anderson.
?If there?s a good side to this, it?s that parents are indeed heeding the warning and keeping their kids home ? when they?re sick,? said Price, who added that Santa Rosa is considering amending its attendance policy because of the illness.
As of now, Okaloosa and Walton counties have no plans to change attendance policies because of the illness.
However, Walton is taking a proactive stance in its schools to ensure sick children stay home for the duration of their illness, said district spokeswoman Meredith Spence.
?For example, if we send a student home with a temperature, they do not need to return for at least 24 hours,? Spence said. ?Our district health services manager, Nancy Smith, created a form to help parents, students, staff and faculty know the earliest time the student should return if they are sent home with a fever.?
The short form states that a child was sent home with whatever temperature and because of the H1N1 virus he or she should remain home until at least 24 hours after the fever is gone. The form is then dated and signed by the school nurse who sent the child home.
Officials with all three school districts said they will continue to monitor absenteeism closely, watching for pockets of illness and then acting accordingly.
http://www.waltonsun.com/news/flu-3534-want-know.html
September 25, 2009 8:18 AM
Katie Tammen
People are worried about the swine flu.
They want to know the signs, how to prevent it and what officials are doing about it. Parents with children in public schools want to know even more, specifically why they aren?t receiving information about infected students who attend school with their children.
?I understand that they don?t want to scare people, but what about the kids who really have it and the kids that could get it?? asked parent Matt Clance, whose son is home with the flu. ?I think that they should notify parents and let the parents be the judge of whether or not their children should be in the school because those are our children.?
The main reason letters aren?t going home is that the illness is so widespread that health officials no longer document every case the H1N1 virus.
In fact, unless a patient meets very specific criteria, doctors are testing patients only to confirm whether they are infected with an influenza virus, not which type of virus, said Dr. Karen Chapman, director of the Okaloosa County Health Department.
However, the current assumption is that 99 percent of the people who test positive for Influenza A have the H1N1 virus, because none of the other variations of Influenza A are circulating in the area. That means even if a parent calls a school and said their doctor said their child has the swine flu, school officials have no way to confirm it.
Schools also don?t alert parents every time a student because the calls and letters would be non-stop.
?We have cases of the flu at every school throughout the school district, and it?s in the community,? said Kaye McKinley, deputy superintendent of schools in Okaloosa County. ?We would be notifying parents daily because daily we have parents calling us to say their kids have the swine flu.?
On Sept. 18, for example, more than 15 percent of Pryor Middle School?s 579 students were absent. The following Monday, about 11 percent of them were absent.
Neighboring Santa Rosa County has a similar notification method. The school district sent out a second batch of brochures to parents with basic information about H1N1 influenza and how to prevent it.
On the advice of the county health department, individual schools in Santa Rosa that are hit hard will alert parents to the upswing, but parents won?t receive a notice every time a student stays home with a temperature, said Conni Carnley, the school district?s director of middle school education.
At this point, the district as a whole is not seeing tremendous absenteeism, but has experienced pockets of illness. Earlier this week at Navarre High School, 400 of the school?s 1,800 students were absent on the same day, said Bill Price, assistant superintendent for instruction.
Walton County schools also have more absences, but officials see it as slightly positive because it means parents are following their advice and keeping children home when they are sick, said Superintendent of Schools Carlene Anderson.
?If there?s a good side to this, it?s that parents are indeed heeding the warning and keeping their kids home ? when they?re sick,? said Price, who added that Santa Rosa is considering amending its attendance policy because of the illness.
As of now, Okaloosa and Walton counties have no plans to change attendance policies because of the illness.
However, Walton is taking a proactive stance in its schools to ensure sick children stay home for the duration of their illness, said district spokeswoman Meredith Spence.
?For example, if we send a student home with a temperature, they do not need to return for at least 24 hours,? Spence said. ?Our district health services manager, Nancy Smith, created a form to help parents, students, staff and faculty know the earliest time the student should return if they are sent home with a fever.?
The short form states that a child was sent home with whatever temperature and because of the H1N1 virus he or she should remain home until at least 24 hours after the fever is gone. The form is then dated and signed by the school nurse who sent the child home.
Officials with all three school districts said they will continue to monitor absenteeism closely, watching for pockets of illness and then acting accordingly.
http://www.waltonsun.com/news/flu-3534-want-know.html