Detection and control of COVID 19 spread in schools using technology

covid-19 resources

  The schooling community comprising of students, teachers, staff, parents, and administration is looking at how they can slow the spread of COVID 19 within the schooling environment. Schools are determining how they can collaborate with state and local health officials to implement CDCs considerations to maintain healthy learning environments.   To help students and communities to overcome the crisis, technology enterprises are developing solutions to step up the detection and control of COVID 19.     What is COVID 19?  COVID 19 is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV 2). The disease was first identified in Wuhan, China, and continues to spread around the world, as an ongoing pandemic.     What are the symptoms of COVID 19?   People who’ve come down with COVID 19 have shown a wide range of symptoms – ranging from mild to severe symptoms. The symptoms typically appear after 2-14 days post-exposure to the virus. People with these symptoms are highly likely to have COVID 19:   Fever or chills  Cough  Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing  Fatigue  Muscle or body aches  Headache  Loss of taste or smell  Sore throat  Congestion or runny nose  While this list does not include all possible symptoms, these are the most common ones. CDC keeps updating its list as they learn more about COVID 19.   When to seek emergency medical attention?  You need to look for emergency warning signs of COVID 19. Seek emergency care if you have:  Trouble breathing  Persistent pain or pressure in the chest  New confusion  Inability to wake or stay awake  Bluish lips or face  How does COVID 19 spread?  Learnings about how the coronavirus spreads and its severity are still underway. From what’s known, it is thought to spread mainly through close contact from person-to-person. In some cases, people without any symptoms too can spread the virus.   The virus spreads from person-to-person between people who are in close contact with each other.   It spreads through the respiratory droplets of an infected person when they cough, sneeze, or talk. When these droplets land in the mouths or noses of people, they’re inhaled into the lungs infecting the person.   Another possibility in how the virus spreads is when a person touches a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touches their nose, mouth, or eyes. This, however, is not thought of as the main way in which the virus spreads.     How to slow down or prevent the spread?  Public health measures like everyday preventive actions are integral to slow down and prevent the spread. They include:  Staying home when sick  Following social distancing of maintaining a 2-meter distance between people when out  Covering mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing/using masks  Washing hands with soap and water/using sanitizers to clean hands  Disinfecting frequently touched surfaces and objects    How to help reduce the spread of coronavirus in schools  It is important to take necessary precautions to prevent the spread of COVID 19 in schools. And at the same time, schools must ensure that students and staff who’ve been exposed to the virus are not stigmatized.   The COVID 19 crisis is an opportunity to help children learn, cultivate compassion, and increase resilience while building a safer and more caring community. Sharing the right information about COVID 19 in an age-appropriate manner with children can help alleviate their fears, enabling them to cope with the impact it has on their lives.     What school administrators, teachers, and staff can do  Disallow sick students, teachers and other staff from coming to school  Enforce regular handwashing with soap and water, rub hands with hand sanitizers, or chlorine solutions. Daily disinfection of school surfaces  Provide water, sanitation and waste management facilities  Promote social distancing   Keep updated with latest COVID 19 facts and share only the right information within networks  Ensure safe school operations like developing school emergency and contingency plans, reinforcing frequent handwashing and sanitation, cleaning and disinfecting school buildings  Establish processes to address situations where students or staff become unwell and ensure they’re shared with students and parents so they’re not caught off-guard when a situation arises.  Follow guidelines from the national health and educational authorities.  Change school policies where appropriate   Track school attendance with absenteeism monitoring systems  Plan for continued access to uninterrupted learning.  Integrate disease prevention and control in daily lives and lessons. Put in place targeted health education.   Allow children to discuss their questions and concerns. Address their need for mental and psychological support and explain that it is normal to experience different reactions.  Ensure continuity of critical services for children with special needs, children with disabilities, children in marginalized     What parents, caregivers and community members can do:   Understand the basic information about COVID 19. Stay informed about COVID 19 updates through sources like the CDC and WHO. Be aware of fake information that may get circulated.   Identify the symptoms of COVID 19 that can affect your child. If the child is sick, keep them home from school.   Keep healthy children in school unless there’s a public health advisory or relevant warning against it.  Encourage a healthy hygiene routine. Identify signs of stress in your child. Common signs are difficulty in sleeping, bedwetting, stomach pains, anxiety, withdrawal, anger, clinginess, or fear of being alone. Listen to their questions, respond to them in a supportive manner, comfort them, and keep them reassured.    What students can do:  Children must understand basic age-appropriate information about COVID 19, including symptoms, complications, how it spreads, and how to prevent transmission. They must consume information from reputed sources like CDC, WHO, and national health advisories.     Disease surveillance systems and COVID 19 checking  Disease surveillance systems help collect, analyze, interpret data, and disseminate data to those responsible for preventing and controlling diseases. Disease surveillance systems in schools estimate the health status and behaviors of students. Because surveillance helps to directly understand what’s going on within a population, it helps in tracking and measuring the need for intervention.   EduHealth is a school health…

Being a school nurse: Challenges and How to Resolve Them

School nursing

  School nurses play a multifaceted role in supporting students and communities with their health needs and this is just one of their many responsibilities. They serve in a pivotal role that bridges healthcare and education. Most key responsibilities of school nurses have risen as a response to the local need. School nurses are part of several school health activities like combatting chronic absenteeism, physical and mental health care, health promotion, educating staff, attending child protection conferences, administering vaccinations, and addressing bullying issues.    Health promotion (96%)   Educating school staff (94%)   Attending child protection conferences (82%)   Administering vaccinations (73%)   Addressing bullying issues (65%)    Besides providing emergency care, school nurses also   Act as case managers for students’ continuing health care needs at school   Coordinate height, weight, vision, hearing, and dental screenings   Administer medications   Perform procedures and assessments   Communicate with health care providers, therapists, parents, and school staff   Provide health education to students, school personnel, and families   Provide a career shadowing experience for nursing students      Challenges of school nurses   When a school nurse is present to meet student healthcare needs, parents and school administrators know that children and youth can focus on learning. Despite being a motivated and dedicated workforce, school nurses face multiple challenges in a school setting.    NASN data shows only 39% of public schools have a school nurse all day, 35% have a school nurse who works part-time, leaving 25% of schools without a full-time school nurse. The most frequently reported school-based challenges school nurses face are having limited resources and a high caseload. They also faced barriers like communication challenges, multiple documentation requirements, conflicting needs and points of view, and working in isolation.     Limited resources and a high caseload: School nurses are heavily dependent on the school’s budget and resources when it comes to providing healthcare. The department is a small fraction of the school’s budgetary concerns. When working in a limited budget and high caseloads, school nurses may have to adjust their approach to healthcare.    Communication challenges: School nurses sometimes face challenges in communicating effectively with school administration, parents, doctors, pharmacies, health care bodies regarding student health because they have too many priorities and limited resources that enable them to meet these expectations.   Multiple documentation requirements: School nurses have the responsibility of updating student health records and maintaining them. This isn’t an easy task and can be time-consuming to the extent that it keeps them from doing what they were meant to do – taking care of students and communities.    Conflicting needs and points of view: Providing healthcare is not the primary objective in an academic environment. School nurses must contend with competing interests and points of view when caring for students in a school setting. In certain instances, while nurses would recommend that a child’s healthcare be prioritized, school administrators may want to keep a student in school instead of addressing their healthcare needs.   Working in isolation: School nurses will work in relative isolation as compared to the traditional healthcare environment. They’ll no longer be able to depend on the advice and support or colleagues. In some cases, school nurses are the only healthcare professional on the campus, which can create feelings of loneliness and seclusion.    Overcoming the challenges   While the disciple of school nursing has come a long way, there is much there is to be done for their betterment. The NASN recently submitted a petition for funding 10,000 school nurses to join for the upcoming school year. The school nurse is more important than ever and expanding their presence in the school setting is essential. They help students grow and thrive. And a professional school nurse is needed for every school because school nursing is the foundation of students’ physical and mental health.    To support them in their activities, they need infrastructure that enables them to do their best work. School nurses must be an integral part of school healthcare policy creation and amendments because they are actively involved in student healthcare and would be able to provide expert suggestions for improving the health of the student community. School nurses need to work in collaboration with school administration and faculty to ensure student health is given due priority. They also need to educate the teaching community about the dangers of overlooking unusual student behavior and student health concerns, and why it needs to be addressed for the student’s overall health.    School nurses also need to be familiarized with digital health records systems to simplify student health documentation requirements. They need to be relieved of the paperwork and enabled with digital systems that simplify medicine administration, immunization tracking, and more. EduHealth is a comprehensive educational healthcare solution for school nurses to collect, track, and manage student health information. Designed by school nurses, it has features connecting the entire schooling community of students, parents, administrators, school nurses, and more. Nurses can access student health history and immunization and health-related documents in a single button click, making their jobs and lives infinitely easier.    EduHealth also enables easy communication with the healthcare community during student health emergencies. The portal allows them to connect with doctors and pharmacies. This simple solution allows them to overcome several challenges related to student health-related documentations, communication with schooling and healthcare community, medicine administration, medical history record maintenance. And enables them to spend more time doing their jobs and caring for students.   Schools nurses contribution to the well being of students must not be overlooked School nurses play an important role in the health and wellbeing of children, with a broad range of duties, from health promotion to support individual pupils with specific conditions. The work of school nurses is essential in supporting children to have a full, active and healthy school life. With such an important role to play, it is vital that more school nurses are recruited and given the given the necessary power and infrastructure to ensure they have the capacity to making the positive contribution to children’s health. EduHealth is a tool that enables them to achieve this. 

School nurse with mask

COVID 19: How FERPA and HIPAA apply to student records

covid-19 resources

  School administrators have to face multiple questions around privacy as COVID 19 continues to spread globally. Administrators must form a strategy on how to inform communities about infections that are spreading among students and their close circles, how to respond to such cases, and most importantly, how to manage keeping students’ privacy safe in such cases. The School Superintendents association has put together a detailed report drawing from the USED guidance on how FERPA applies to schools in the context of COVID 19.   Student health is protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and not the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). If there is a need to disclose personal information, authorities will typically have to take consent to protect the health of others in an emergency.    FERPA and HIPAA  ( How they usually apply ) FERPA protects personally identifiable information (PII) in students’ health records maintained by an educational agency or institution. Schools can disclose FERPA-protected information only if they have consent from a parent unless an exception to FERPA’s general consent rule applies. In the case of COVID 19, the most applicable exception to consent is FERPA’s health or safety emergency exception.  HIPAA applies when a school’s health services are funded, administered and operated by or on behalf of public or private health, social services, or other non-educational agencies or individuals. HIPAA prohibits the disclosure of protected health information (PHI) without consent and requires entities subject to the law to establish appropriate privacy policies to protect PHI from unauthorized disclosure. HIPAA, however, has an emergency provision allowing disclosure of PHI in certain cases.   How they apply to student records during COVID 19 pandemic  Here’s how schools can share information about students while protecting their privacy during a public health emergency.  If a student has COVID 19, what information from educational records can the school share with the community?  Occasions where FERPA does not apply  Schools can disclose that a student may have COVID 19 as long as the school does not directly or indirectly identify that student.   Administrators must ensure messages to the community don’t identify the student directly or indirectly.    E.g., “A student on the soccer team or a student who recently attended a soccer game tested positive for COVID 19.     When personally identifiable information needs to be released, FERPA applies  If the school determines that certain students had close contact with an affected student during a potentially contagious period.  When there is an articulable and significant threat to the health or safety of a student or other individuals and when someone needs PII from education records to protect the student’s or other individuals’ health or safety.  Actions the school might take during a period of risk:  1. Articulable and significant threat of a health or safety emergency: Articulable and significant threat means that the school should be able to explain, based on all the information available at the time, what the threat is and why it is significant.   In the FERPA and COVID 19 guidance, US Department of Education (USED) states that if local public health authorities determine that a public health emergency, such as COVID 19, is a significant threat to students or other individuals in the community, an educational agency/institution in the community may determine that an emergency exists too.    The 2009 FERPA and H1N1 guidance from USED notes that an emergency could include sharing information when necessary during the early stages of a pandemic.   2. Disclosure is necessary to protect health and safety of students and others:   The school decides that the affected student’s teachers, classmates and their parents, or students with whom the student spent significant amount of time know about the affected student in order to protect their health.  3. Only disclose the minimum amount of information required to address the issue at hand:  The school can choose to disclose to the classmates of an affected student that one of their classmates has COVID 19 without identifying who it is. In this case, FERPA would not apply.  If the school needs to directly or indirectly identify the student, they should make sure they provide the minimum information necessary. Perhaps details like the COVID 19 positive status and a window of time of the infection.  4. School officials should be sure to document when they release PII in this exception:   The health or safety emergency exception requires the school to list the following information in the student’s record: the articulable and significant threat that formed the basis for the disclosure and the parties who received the information.  If the school suspects that a student has COVID 19, what information can the school share with the community?  School administrators can proactively warn parents and students about COVID 19 in the school community to facilitate prevention efforts and ensure that people have information necessary to address a potential outbreak.  It is not necessary to identify the symptomatic individual.  Do not identify the student exhibiting symptoms unless the community needs to know that information, and perhaps share CDC-recommended preventative measures or other resources as part of a message that can help protect parents and students.  Do not make notifications about a student exhibiting symptoms to elicit fear.  FERPA does not cover teachers. So, if a teacher is affected, a school could share that information without violating FERPA. However, state laws regarding employee confidentiality might apply.   If a school suspects that a student may have COVID 19, can school officials contact the student’s primary care physician?  If a school cannot reach a student or parents and suspects that the student might have COVID 19, they can reach out to the student’s primary care physician to ask if the physician can confirm so the school can notify the community.  The school could obtain the parent’s or eligible student’s consent to contact the physician; use FERPA’s health or safety emergency exception.  However, HIPAA may not allow the physician to disclose any information back to the school. HIPAA contains an emergency exception that allows health care providers to disclose protected health information without patient authorization “as necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of the individual, another person, or the public.  If a provider identifies the risk, they would be permitted to disclose the minimum information necessary to the school.  If a student has COVID 19 and the school’s health records…

Is my child at risk of contracting COVID 19?

covid-19 resources, Health Care Tips

  Reports have it that children may not spread COVID 19 as much as adults do. However, as the US plans return to work after lockdowns, it is important for parents and school health facilitators to follow the CDC’s guidelines on children’s healthcare and well-being.   Most children over a year old may show mild symptoms of COVID 19. If they have a fever, cough, runny nose or diarrhea, it will be hard to ascertain if the symptoms are a result of the child having contracted the virus.  Therefore, it is recommended that in such instances they stay away from older people in the house, like grandparents.   As for a solution, wearing facemasks is now recommended by the CDC (for those who are 2 years and old). When children gather in public places, like grocery shops or pharmacies, where maintaining social distance is difficult, it is best for them to be in a mask. The same rule applies if you are from an area with high number of COVID 19 cases.   Latest reports have shown how 1 in 4 patients with the virus did not show any signs of the illness. So, wearing masks is a great way to prevent the spread. Also, ensure regular handwashing and sanitization as recommended by the CDC and health authorities. It would be best if you keep in touch with healthcare providers and health officials for specific guidance on the best measures to take to keep your children and yourselves safe.   However, if your child is showing symptoms of the illness, such a shortness of breath and fever, after coming in contact with someone you know who’s had the virus or you live in an area heavily affected by COVID 19, seek medical help.   For more information on, contact your local health department.  If you are at high risk of contracting the virus, the local health department will guide you on where you can get yourself and your kids tested, and will help you find the best care.  This is an essential step because most doctors are not available to test for COVID 19 at this time.     What should I do if my child is ill?  Children very often have mild illnesses and you can safely treat them at usual. However, if you find your child’s symptoms are not mild, it is recommended that you call a doctor before heading to a clinic to limit the chances of your child from getting the virus. If you don’t have a doctor, you can get in touch with your local clinic, urgent care center or emergency room before you head over as they can provide help via phone without you having to visit in person.

Tips for safely visiting your family and friends during COVID 19

covid-19 resources

As America prepares to reopen businesses, a pertinent question making the rounds is “When can I safely visit my family and friends?” Medical expert and family physician Bethany Panchal in an article for the Ohio State University has said that while there are no universal answers to the question, there are some tips that you can keep in mind, based on guidance from CDC and other public health entities.   Some of the major areas you need to think of before a decision to visit someone is:  Ensure everyone involved in the meeting plan have been healthy throughout the COVID 19 period for at least the past two weeks  Ensure that everyone involved in the meet-up plan has been healthy for at the past two weeks during this period. While any sign of COVID 19 need not be treated at a possible infection, it is best to avoid contact until the infected has been without a fever for at least three days and without any symptoms for about 10 days. Some of the symptoms are:   Fever at 100.4°F or higher   Respiratory symptoms, like dry cough or shortness of breath  Head ache  Body ache  Chills  Loss of taste or smell  Sore throat     Ensure everyone involved in the meeting plan is “low-risk”  Certain individuals are at a higher risk of being infected with illnesses like COVID 19. They are those who are 65 years old and above, living in a nursing home or long-term care arrangement, being immunocompromised, or having chronic lung disease issues, moderate to several asthma, a serious heart condition, diabetes, chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis, liver disease or severe obesity.   Review plans where such people are involved to avoid risks of exposing them to any infection that could compromise their health.    Ensure you can maintain social distancing during this meet-up   Wearing masks, maintaining your distance with at least six or more feet’s gap between everyone can help in minimizing the risk of spreading the infection.    Ensure to keep the number of people low  The more the people, the higher the chance of a transmission. So, keep the number of people in attendance low – set the maximum number at 10.   If you can ensure that these tips are kept in mind, you can go ahead with the meeting plan since the risk for all involved would be low.     If younger children are involved  However, if there are toddlers and children who cannot reliably social-distance involved in the meeting, make sure the elders have a good conversation about the rules. It’s relatively difficult to keep children away from the people they love, like their grandparents or friends, so make no exceptions in ensuring you follow the aforementioned tips during your meeting.    It would be best to consider setting strict no kiss no hug rules during these meetings. While it maybe harder to make children understand about it, the elders need to come to an understanding to keep everyone safe.  Facemasks are encouraged for children who are two years old and above, and keep in mind to follow thorough handwashing during these visits.     Questions to ask to ensure your meeting is safe  Has anyone in the household been ill in the past two weeks? Has anyone in the household been exposed to anyone who has been sick in the past two weeks? Does anyone in the household have any comorbidities (high-risk health factors) that would put them at greater risk if they were infected with COVID-19? Has anyone in the household been in a group of 10 or more recently, putting them at higher risk of transmission? The safest meetings would be the ones in which answers to all these questions is a “no”.    Be careful, always  That said, COVID 19 is extremely contagious. While we pull out all stops to make sure everything is favorable for our plans, we must understand that it Is likely that unforeseen circumstances like many people having it but not knowing it is a high possibility. And they could even spread it to people, who would show life-threatening symptoms.   So, be sure of the decisions you make and keep an eye out for the latest guidance from public health bodies like CDC.     Does that mean you shouldn’t be meeting people?  While some people may decide that they are not prepared to risk meeting other people until a vaccine is developed, which could take a while to develop, medical practitioners, recommend that people who want to meet their families must limit the number of people in a meeting. People should also keep away from participating in public gatherings, follow social distancing, wear face masks and follow healthy hygiene practices.   If you need expert guidance on whether you can go ahead with your plans, consult with your usual primary care provider for their opinion. 

Five ways in which a school nurse benefits the school

EHR, School nursing

  School nurses play an integral role in helping students maintain physical and mental wellbeing during their schooling years and beyond. For children in most communities, school nurses serve as the only healthcare professional the child will ever know. This is evidence of the importance of their role with respect to student and community health, providing comprehensive health services to children and youth.   So, how does a school nurse benefit the school?  After the child’s home, schools represent the second most influential environment in a child’s life. And the school nurse is the healthcare representative on the site. An understanding of a school nurse’s role is important in understanding the many benefits of having them in a schooling environment. School nurses help children learn about health, identify health risks and illnesses, address physical and emotional issues, administer medications safely, verify immunizations and more.  School nurses provide leadership for the provision of health services and beyond in a school setting helping keep the community a healthy and safe place for children.  

10 Free e-Learning platforms for successful remote education

Softwares

The schooling world changed the moment the COVID 19 school closures were announced. Almost every US state has had to immediately close schools, many for the rest of the academic year, majorly disrupting the public education system. The closures have affected close to 55 million public school students across the nation.   This has required school administrators and teachers to think differently about their approach to teaching. And children, the digital natives, have become independent in how they learn and acquire knowledge. This subsequently has resulted in the adoption of virtual learning methods, online learning and applications to keep children engaged at homes.    Several online learning platforms have responded to this need of keeping children engaged and are offering their programs for free or on discount to help children continue learning.   1. Scholastic Learn at Home Scholastic is offering a free “Learn at Home” program offering daily courses for kids. Everyday, children are given lessons that include age-appropriate writing, reading, and enrichment programs. The programs are active learning journeys designed to reinforce and sustain educational opportunities for those students who are unable to attend school.   2. Outschool  Outschool has been use for homeschooling and tutoring, and is offering classes worth $300,000 for free to children aged 3-18 through video chat. The classes cover topics in English, Math, Social Studies, Science, Coding, Health and Wellness, Music, Art and World Languages.  Kids can use the platform to learn Baking and Video Game Design.    3. Khan Academy Khan Academy offers several free educational resources for kids and parents. Their offerings include practice exercises, instructional videos and personalized learning dashboards that show students their progress in learning subjects including math, science, computer programming, history, art history and economics from home. For those struggling with creating a daily schedule, the platform offers a detailed daily schedules for children aged 4-18.    4. Peanuts Worldwide The company that gave us Snoopy and Charlie Brown has brought out educational material that kids can use to learn from home. The website now features material for children in kindergarten through to grade 8. Kids can learn STEM, language arts and social studies together with Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the whole Peanuts gang. The peanut themed lesson plans aim to help parents and guardians create dynamic learning experiences that can inspire children’s minds.    5. New York City Department of Education New York’s Department of Education released free supplementary learning resources for students. The materials focus on getting students to continue to read, write, do social studies and science activities and work on math problems. The material is grade-specific and includes daily study schedules, guides for instructional activities, recommendations of educational TV shows and links to books, magazines and websites that have content that appeals to children of all ages.    6. Comcast Xfinity Education Comcast has made available nearly 2,000 hours of programming and thousands of free titles available to Xfinity video customers. This allows children and parents quick access to educational programming by grade level. subset of the education collection is also available on Xfinity Flex and across devices via the Xfinity Stream app and website.   7. Prodigy Math  Prodigy Math is an online math program that uses video game-styled lessons for children from first to eighth grade. Children can create their own avatars and conquer math challenges along the way. Parents/teachers can create an account for themselves to monitor the child’s progress.   8. Dictionary.com Learning at Home Center Dictionary.com’s Learning at Home Center provides English lessons for students in grade pre-K to 12. The material created has been approved by teachers, which includes spellings, grammar, word challenges, as well as fun family activities and writing prompts.    9. Mystery Science Mystery Science has a variety of science-related topics for kids in kindergarten through fifth grades and they’re offering a number of free memberships for a year. The platform provides video lessons on practical science, experiments and downloadable activities.    10. Openstax College students looking to study while off-campus, or simply anyone looking to further their education, can use OpenStax. The platform has free online homework products and openly licensed digital textbooks that are available to anyone, anywhere. The platform includes books in math, science, social studies and more.    Several other platforms are giving free access to their learning material, most of them teaching languages, music, art, theater, history, science and so on. This presents a great opportunity for children to learn how they can study independently and research more about the topics and subjects they’re learning.   This shift also presents a new challenge to teachers. As children are aware about the possibility of effective education with apps and virtual sessions, teachers can tap into this and teach their lessons creatively. This will effectively ease their jobs, give them more time and take education beyond the classroom. But it all depends on how teachers step up to this challenge and think of it as an opportunity to deliver excellence in education.   

Helping children understand emergencies and cope with it

covid-19 resources, Student Health Care

Times like the one we’re in now are putting people under immense pressure, stressing them out – and it is no different for our children. Children react to emergencies and situations such as these differently, and how they would depends on many factors such as their age, previous experiences and the amount of exposure they’ve had to the situation. Some children are quick to react to such situations, while others may show signs of difficulty at a much later stage. Much of the child’s reactions takes after what they see in the surrounding environment. This makes it important for the parents to remain calm and discuss matters to them in an age-appropriate way as well as carefully monitor what the child is being exposed. Talking to children calmly and confidently reinforces their confidence and helps them to prepare better for the situation at hand and what’s coming after. What causes an emotional effect on children during emergencies? The damage caused by epidemics can be overwhelming. Separation from school, family and friends can create a great deal of stress and anxiety in children. These are some main causes of anxiety and stress in children: Direct involvement with people who’ve been found as COVID 19 positive The thought that a loved one may die Losing a family member/friend/acquaintance How parents and caregivers react to the situation Separation from school and friends Exposure to media Helping children understand facts and cope These situations can engender varied responses in children. To help them cope, you must first set a good example by managing your stress with healthy lifestyle choices. This prepares you to respond to unexpected events, making you take better and balanced decisions that are in the best interest of your family and loved ones. Encourage your children to talk about the situation. Make yourself available and listen to what they are saying. Children must know that you’re always ready to answer their questions. Reassure your children by remaining calm. Children can pick hints from what you say and how you say it. So, it is important for you to remain calm and reassure them Everybody is equally at risk of an attack from a virus, irrespective of race and ethnicity. Do not create any biases. Give information appropriate for the age of the child. Talk to them about how some information they’re viewing may not be correct. Promote healthy practices among yourself and your children. Encourage them to wash their hands, stay away from people who are coughing or sneezing, cough or sneeze into their elbows or tissue. Exposing children to intense media coverage can scare and disturb them. So, monitor the information they’re consuming. Make your children stick to a routine to give them a sense of structure. This could make them feel more relaxed. When they’re past the situation, help them go back to their normal activities such as going to school, playing with friends and so on. Help your children feel a sense of control when this is over. Share the right information and help them stay calm. Let them mentally prepare themselves for the changes and gain an understanding of what has passed.  

school nurse in classroom

Caring for communities and students during COVID 19: What school nurses must know

covid-19 resources

Professionals in the healthcare sector are leading the front line efforts towards caring for patients with confirmed and possible infection from COVID 19. The virus is reaching a lot of people, and healthcare professionals are requesting communities to help them contain the disease by staying at home.  Governments too are closing monitoring the situation. Governors are directing citizens in their state to combat the disease by staying at home as much as possible, practicing healthy hygiene practices and following social distancing when outside. They have also directed community centers and non-essential businesses to stop functions until notice.  They have shut down schools as a means to prevent the virus from spreading. And here, school nurses can here play a role. You can keep tabs on whether students and communities are following healthy preventive practices and government directions to prevent the virus from spreading.  While caring for the community, school nurses must at all times ensure that you:  Encourage your staff as well as members in your community to protect their personal health.  Extensively share verified information about the signs of COVID 19 and increase awareness among members in the community. Encourage sick people to stay at home and take care of themselves. Improve awareness about the importance of constantly cleaning surfaces that are frequently touched – like shared desks, counter tops and door knobs  Stress on the importance on setting limits for social gatherings Stay updated on what’s happening in your community Be prepared with an emergency plan for a possible outbreak Assess the health status of members within the community.  However, in case of an outbreak in your community, it is advised that you do what it takes to avoid panic and take the following actions: If you’re informed that a member in your community is sick, send them home or take steps to separate them from their community. If you identify a case of illness, immediately take steps to notify others who could be in close contact with the ill person. Disinfect the person’s home and premises regularly. Stay in touch with the local health department to pass on necessary information in time. Urge communities to cancel all meetings and events. Put a disease outbreak plan in action. There is much that school nurses can do to build awareness about how the people must prepare themselves for COVID 19 and these are some best practices for school nurses:  Keeping yourselves updated on information from reputable sources like the CDC, and state and county health agencies School nurses can play an important role in keeping track of local cases and states where COVID 19 is present. By learning and share this information with parents, you can position yourself as a source of most accurate and up-to-date information on how the virus is spreading and what are the measures that people must take to protect themselves and stop the spread. Keep in touch with local health departments School nurses can be in touch with the school district liaison officer, who is a source of the most updated health information from local and state agencies. You can pass on information such as educational campaigns, letters carrying necessary information to parents and guardians, adjustments to district cleaning schedules as well as decisions to close one or more schools made by administrators. Review communicable disease plan School nurses can also review the district’s communicable disease plan and make changes as applicable to reflect the current health crisis that’s unfolding. Nurses must provide input and update sections of the district’s emergency plan on pandemics and biological incidents. They must also consider district-wide first aid requirements and on managing shelters and mass care facilities in the review plan. Help staff and students in understanding medical information Nurses can help translate difficult medical lingo and directives into  easy-to-understand language for administrators, principals, parents and students. They can even collaborate with physical education and private classroom teachers on how to make the information grade-appropriate for students’ consumption. Answer health-related questions from parents and staff Understanding the information that school districts send home could be difficult for parents. Here, schools nurses can act as a liaison to answer what the message means and how it impacts children based on their medical histories. They can even address social issues like social distancing and offer necessary information and guidance.  Popularize good prevention practices School nurses can run demonstrations, particularly for younger students, on how to wash their hands properly, how to cough into their elbows and other preventive steps like social distancing to stop respiratory as well as other communicable illnesses from spreading. Medication supply coordination School nurses can coordinate with school administration and families to determine how medication supplies can be picked up from school for use at home.  As for what nurses must not be doing now: Spreading false information: School nurses must rely only on legitimate sources for information, as parents and staff depend on you to get the right information.  Don’t check temperature randomly: Random temperate checks would be ineffective as it captures the child’s temperature at just one moment in time. But, if students come to the nurses’ office with other symptoms, school nurses can check their temperature.  Eduhealth and COVID 19 Eduheath can be a great tool in monitoring student health and helping nurses keep track on each student’s status. They can even be a great tool for communicating guidelines and educating parents in a go, keeping the community updated and safe from wrong information and viruses as well.  As the whole world fights the deadly COVID 19 together, school nurses in the US have an integral role to play in building awareness among children and their communities about how to be prepared for these trying times. You must educate people about staying home and social distancing as a means to avoid getting infected. And in this way do your part in sharing the right information and safeguarding your community.

Is Your School Prepared for a Coronavirus Outbreak?

covid-19 resources

It’s time for schools in the US to prepare themselves to counter a possible corona virus outbreak.  State and local educational agencies must start collaborating with health agencies to understand the nature of the spread, understand critical information about the disease and focus on what needs to be done to prevent its introduction into communities.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has brought out interim guidance based on what’s currently known about the nature of the corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19). It has also specially mentioned the roles schools can play in disseminating information about COVID -19 and its potential transmission with the school community.    While health officials have the responsibility to take all measures to prevent the introduction and spread of the virus in communities across the US, schools must continue to collaborate, share information, and even review plans with local health officials to help protect the whole school community.    Should school administrators be worried about COVID-19? COVID-19 is a respiratory illness caused by a novel virus. Concerns have been raised about the outbreak in the US and the repercussions if communities are affected. Imported cases of the disease have been found in the US, forcing communities, like schools, to go on high alert to counter its spreading.    How can schools prevent it? To prevent the spreading of the COVID-19 – about which not much is known and no vaccine found – students, teachers, parents, and school administrators must avoid being exposed to the virus that causes it.  Stopping transmission through everyday practices has been suggested as one of the best ways to keep everyone healthy and ensure students have safe and healthy learning environments.  There are several measures that schools can take to prepare themselves for an outbreak. Develop an outbreak response/pandemic plan, if there isn’t one. Review and update the existing plan and share it with stakeholders. Organize training sessions to sensitize staff or members on preventive measures. Prepare for potential school closures, dismissals or cancellation of school events. Prepare to offer home instruction to students. Get in touch with local public health officials and identify points of contact. Prepare processes to send back home students and staff who become sick at school or arrive at school sick. Put in place an emergency communication plan and maintain up-to-date contact information for everyone in your communication chain. Form a leadership team, identify essential staff functions, assign tasks and responsibilities. Continue to monitor current information from health officials.   How can school nurses pitch in?  Nurses in school districts have an integral role to play. They’ve to sensitize students about the disease, and also dispel the fear that students may have developed towards it.    They can do this by urging students to adopt healthy everyday preventive practices like:  Avoiding contact with sick people Not touching eyes, nose and mouth  Staying at home if sick Using tissues while sneezing and discarding them after a single use Using disinfectants Using face-masks Washing hands with soap and water Using hand sanitizers   Nurses must also establish communication with parents to regularly check-in on ill students. They should also inform parents when a child falls ill while at school and take immediate next steps. They should keep tabs on students who have traveled to affected countries and coordinate with parents and the health department on when the student can re-enter the school. Nurses also need to maintain constant contact with doctors, other health workers as well as pharmacies to communicate emergencies and ensure that healthcare of their schools is well taken of.  They must organize cleanliness drives, lead the establishment of preventive practices, and maintain up-to-date information and documentation on the status of the health of students as well as teachers.  It is also important for them to update themselves on the latest measures that schools need to take to safeguard the health of students and communities.    How can Eduhealth help? Nurses are the primary point of care for students in school districts and they need to be proactively involved in countering the spread of the disease.  A tool like Eduhealth will help nurses carefully monitor students’ health by managing documentation and communication on one single platform.  Nurses will be able to update students’ health information on their profiles and pass on messages to parents, doctors or healthcare workers.  With Eduhealth, nurses will be able to stay on top of their students’ healthcare requirements and ensure the right steps are taken to effectively protect their schools and communities against attacks from deadly viruses.