Greetings from the Shepard Clinic! As we begin November, I wanted to take a few minutes to review ways to stay healthy this cold and flu season. Here is some helpful information to assist you in staying well…
Flu season is typically from October thru mid-May. Preparation is the key. Management is a team effort between parents, students, health care professionals, Plano ISD, and Collin County Health Department. Each plays a vital role in managing the flu season responsibly.
Our schools help by:
- Teaching and encouraging proper hand washing techniques.
- Teaching effective coughing and sneeze techniques such as cough into your sleeve.
- Posting signs around the campus as a visual reminder
- Offering free flu vaccinations to staff.
- Encouraging all staff to remain home when ill.
Parents help by:
- Having their families vaccinated against the flu.
- Encouraging proper hand washing, sneeze and cough techniques be used at home.
- Consulting their healthcare providers when flu-like symptoms begin. Symptoms include: fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, fatigue and nasal congestion.
- Keeping children home when ill.
Students help by:
- Washing their hands for twenty seconds with soap and water before and after eating, after sneezing or coughing into their hands, after using the restroom, after playing outdoors and any other time their hands are dirty.
- Using tissues when sneezing and coughing into their sleeves.
- Not sharing food and drink.
- Encouraging others to do the same.
Collin County Health Department can help when:
- Increased incidences of diagnosed flu or absences related to flu-like illness are noted in a particular school.
- Helping plan and making suggestions for managing increased incidences in a particular area.
More information can be found on the following government sites:
· Center for Disease Control and Prevention
· Collin County Healthcare Services
· Texas Department of State Health Services
QUICK REVIEW OF THE EXCLUSIONS FROM SCHOOL
The guidelines below have been developed for the exclusion of students who have communicable or contagious diseases. These regulations are following the requirements of the local health authority, Plano ISD Administrative Guidelines, and the Board of Trustees’ appointed medical officer.
1. A student with any of the following symptoms will be excluded from school until such time as the student is free of symptoms, has been satisfactorily treated, or submits a signed physician’s statement that he/she is not contagious.
- Temperature of 100.0 degrees or more. Student must be fever free for 24 hours, without medication, before re-entry.
- Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. Student must be symptom free for 24 hours without medication before re-entry.
- Pain and/or swelling at angle of jaw.
- Undetermined rash over any part of the body.
- Undiagnosed scaly patches on the body or scalp.
- Red, draining eyes.
- Intense itching with signs and symptoms of secondary infection.
- Open, draining lesions.
- Jaundice
Finally, please know that at Shepard Elementary we have the important goal of keeping our students safe and healthy. Every effort is made, on a daily basis, to identify patterns of illness in the school, and act accordingly to reduce the spread of the flu and other common illnesses. As always, if you should have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to call, email, or come by the school clinic. I am happy to assist in any way possible. Together, at home and in school, we can work together to reinforce healthy habits and help reduce the spread of illness.
Julianne Kirby, BSN, RN
