Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://ydr.inyork.com/ci_12536244
Decisions to close city schools not made on the fly
Before a school is shut down, a team of three agencies must find out of students are sick with the flu.
By NICHOLE DOBO
Daily Record/Sunday News
Updated: 06/06/2009 10:28:26 PM EDT
A week after the first confirmed case of swine flu was reported at the York City School District, all but one of the schools were shut down.
The number of confirmed cases of swine flu in the city schools reached nine Friday, and there are at least a half dozen more probable cases, said Dr. David Hawk, the medical director of theYork City Bureau of Health.
It's an issue that's expected to continue into the fall, Hawk said.
"It won't be over when schools get out," he said. "We could be back here in August."
The only city school that has not seen an increase in absenteeism due to the flu has been William Penn Senior High School.
Graduation at the Toyota Arena will continue as planned for Tuesday, but paper face masks will be given to those who want them. Those who are ill should not attend, said Karen Richardson, the district's head nurse.
"The intent is not to spread it," Supt. Sharon Miller said.
Data-based decisions
Every day, the school district and city officials met to talk about data gathered and distilled using an emergency plan written several years ago to deal with a possible pandemic.
School nurses and the city health bureau track sick students. That means making home visits and talking to doctors and parents to find out if children are absent because of the flu or some other illness.
Then, information about the cases determined to probably be the swine flu are sent to the city's Office of Emergency Management, where the children are plotted on a map using a software program.
"It's sort of like playing with puzzle pieces and seeing how they connect," said Mike Shanabrook, the city's emergency planner.
There are clusters of suspected and confirmed swine flu cases in York city classrooms and neighborhoods, which showed the virus was spreading -- something officials are attempting to prevent.
"Clusters are an important sign," Hawk said.
The district made decisions on school closures late in the day last week because the district went through these steps each day to make those decisions, Miller said. It's the method recommended by state and federal officials, she said.
Test results
It took until Friday for the district to find out the status of eight probable cases.
That's because there are a number of steps in finding out whether a someone is sick with the swine flu.
First, patients with the flu symptoms -- such as headache, fever and body ache -- are tested for Influenza A. The swine flu is a type of Influenza A.
If a person tests positive for Influenza A, more testing is needed, but it is considered a probable case of the swine flu.
A state lab tests probable cases to determine if they are H1N1, which is the technical name for the swine flu. These test results can take up to a week to be completed.
In the coming days, it will become harder for the district to track swine flu, Hawk said.
Not all the swine flu cases are being confirmed by lab results. After it was determined this week that swine flu is in the York community, they have stopped testing every person who has flu symptoms to see, specifically, if it is the swine flu, Hawk said.
It's not required for doctors to test everyone for the swine flu, said Stacy Kriedeman, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Health. Doctors should be most watchful in situations where those who are ill are in a group setting, such as a school, child care center or a group home, she said.
It's suspected that increased testing might be the reason some communities are showing larger numbers of confirmed cases, Kriedeman said. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been working in Berks County, and that's where there is the highest numbers of confirmed cases.
Locally, with fewer test results coming in, the city school district will have to go by what symptoms children are showing.
This will be tracked through the summer, with the district taking precautions to ensure children are not spreading the virus at summer programs, Miller said.
Taking precautions
There's no full-proof way to prevent spreading the flu.
But the district is offering some advice to make sure those who attend William Penn's graduation Tuesday are safe.
Paper masks will be provided for those who wish to wear them, but it is not required, Richardson said. There will also be hand sanitizer.
In the schools, classrooms have already undergone a deep clean that's usually reserved for the summer, said Brad Harman, the district's building and grounds manager. The district uses a special cleaner that can kill the virus.
But there's only so much that can be done by the school, Harmon said. Even after a good scrubbing, it only takes one infected person to contaminate it again, he said.
On Friday, the district asked that people attending graduation make sure to wash their hands, don't touch eyes, mouths or noses, and remember to cover-up sneezes and coughs.
The most important advice, Richardson said: Stay home if you are sick with the flu.
ndobo@ydr.com; 771-2032
AT A GLANCE
The York City School District closed all its schools with the exception of William Penn Senior High School because of illnesses suspected to be the swine flu. Logos Academy and the Lincoln Charter School are also closed for the remainder of the year.
York County has 17 confirmed cases of swine flu and eight probable cases, tying it for the sixth-highest in the state, according to state Department of Health statistics that were last updated 3 p.m. Friday. Statewide, there are 361 confirmed and 61 probable cases.
GRADUATION REMINDERS
The York City School District plans to holds William Penn Senior High School's graduation 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Toyota Arena.
The district's emergency team, which includes district administration, the York City Bureau of Health and the Office of Emergency Management, recommend the following:
# Do not attend graduation if you are sick with flu symptoms, which include fever, cough, headache, body ache or a sore throat.
# Carry tissues to cover sneezes and coughs.
# Keep hands away from mouths, noses and eyes.
Paper masks will be provided for all who want to wear them. They are not required.
The district is trying to make arrangements to broadcast graduation live on White Rose Community Access TV (channel 18) for those who are unable to attend.
Decisions to close city schools not made on the fly
Before a school is shut down, a team of three agencies must find out of students are sick with the flu.
By NICHOLE DOBO
Daily Record/Sunday News
Updated: 06/06/2009 10:28:26 PM EDT
A week after the first confirmed case of swine flu was reported at the York City School District, all but one of the schools were shut down.
The number of confirmed cases of swine flu in the city schools reached nine Friday, and there are at least a half dozen more probable cases, said Dr. David Hawk, the medical director of theYork City Bureau of Health.
It's an issue that's expected to continue into the fall, Hawk said.
"It won't be over when schools get out," he said. "We could be back here in August."
The only city school that has not seen an increase in absenteeism due to the flu has been William Penn Senior High School.
Graduation at the Toyota Arena will continue as planned for Tuesday, but paper face masks will be given to those who want them. Those who are ill should not attend, said Karen Richardson, the district's head nurse.
"The intent is not to spread it," Supt. Sharon Miller said.
Data-based decisions
Every day, the school district and city officials met to talk about data gathered and distilled using an emergency plan written several years ago to deal with a possible pandemic.
School nurses and the city health bureau track sick students. That means making home visits and talking to doctors and parents to find out if children are absent because of the flu or some other illness.
Then, information about the cases determined to probably be the swine flu are sent to the city's Office of Emergency Management, where the children are plotted on a map using a software program.
"It's sort of like playing with puzzle pieces and seeing how they connect," said Mike Shanabrook, the city's emergency planner.
There are clusters of suspected and confirmed swine flu cases in York city classrooms and neighborhoods, which showed the virus was spreading -- something officials are attempting to prevent.
"Clusters are an important sign," Hawk said.
The district made decisions on school closures late in the day last week because the district went through these steps each day to make those decisions, Miller said. It's the method recommended by state and federal officials, she said.
Test results
It took until Friday for the district to find out the status of eight probable cases.
That's because there are a number of steps in finding out whether a someone is sick with the swine flu.
First, patients with the flu symptoms -- such as headache, fever and body ache -- are tested for Influenza A. The swine flu is a type of Influenza A.
If a person tests positive for Influenza A, more testing is needed, but it is considered a probable case of the swine flu.
A state lab tests probable cases to determine if they are H1N1, which is the technical name for the swine flu. These test results can take up to a week to be completed.
In the coming days, it will become harder for the district to track swine flu, Hawk said.
Not all the swine flu cases are being confirmed by lab results. After it was determined this week that swine flu is in the York community, they have stopped testing every person who has flu symptoms to see, specifically, if it is the swine flu, Hawk said.
It's not required for doctors to test everyone for the swine flu, said Stacy Kriedeman, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Health. Doctors should be most watchful in situations where those who are ill are in a group setting, such as a school, child care center or a group home, she said.
It's suspected that increased testing might be the reason some communities are showing larger numbers of confirmed cases, Kriedeman said. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been working in Berks County, and that's where there is the highest numbers of confirmed cases.
Locally, with fewer test results coming in, the city school district will have to go by what symptoms children are showing.
This will be tracked through the summer, with the district taking precautions to ensure children are not spreading the virus at summer programs, Miller said.
Taking precautions
There's no full-proof way to prevent spreading the flu.
But the district is offering some advice to make sure those who attend William Penn's graduation Tuesday are safe.
Paper masks will be provided for those who wish to wear them, but it is not required, Richardson said. There will also be hand sanitizer.
In the schools, classrooms have already undergone a deep clean that's usually reserved for the summer, said Brad Harman, the district's building and grounds manager. The district uses a special cleaner that can kill the virus.
But there's only so much that can be done by the school, Harmon said. Even after a good scrubbing, it only takes one infected person to contaminate it again, he said.
On Friday, the district asked that people attending graduation make sure to wash their hands, don't touch eyes, mouths or noses, and remember to cover-up sneezes and coughs.
The most important advice, Richardson said: Stay home if you are sick with the flu.
ndobo@ydr.com; 771-2032
AT A GLANCE
The York City School District closed all its schools with the exception of William Penn Senior High School because of illnesses suspected to be the swine flu. Logos Academy and the Lincoln Charter School are also closed for the remainder of the year.
York County has 17 confirmed cases of swine flu and eight probable cases, tying it for the sixth-highest in the state, according to state Department of Health statistics that were last updated 3 p.m. Friday. Statewide, there are 361 confirmed and 61 probable cases.
GRADUATION REMINDERS
The York City School District plans to holds William Penn Senior High School's graduation 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Toyota Arena.
The district's emergency team, which includes district administration, the York City Bureau of Health and the Office of Emergency Management, recommend the following:
# Do not attend graduation if you are sick with flu symptoms, which include fever, cough, headache, body ache or a sore throat.
# Carry tissues to cover sneezes and coughs.
# Keep hands away from mouths, noses and eyes.
Paper masks will be provided for all who want to wear them. They are not required.
The district is trying to make arrangements to broadcast graduation live on White Rose Community Access TV (channel 18) for those who are unable to attend.