USD 327 Nurse’s Notes
COVID-19 Information
August 2020
Hello! How exciting to be bringing some information to you from the school health office for the 20/21 school year! Please be aware these are only some high points that I am touching on and not an all-inclusive guide. The District will make a complete document available to you at a later date.
We have developed a county wide team, Ellsworth County School Health Team, with which I am working very closely, to make sure we are all on the same page where COVID-19 and the health of Ellsworth County schools is concerned. The team is made up of medical professionals from the Ellsworth Rural Health Clinic, ECMC, the Ellsworth County Health Department, and the RN’s from USD 112, as well as following best practice guidelines from the KDHE, CDC, Kansas State Department of Education, Kansas School Nurse Organization, CDC, and the Kansas COVID Workgroup for Kids (which is endorsed by The University of Kansas Pediatrics of Wichita, Kansas Academy of Family Physicians, and the Kansas Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics) With that said, that is a lot of information to get through to make sure we are offering the best care to our staff, students, and visitors and remain within any Executive Orders that are issued.
The COVID 19 – School Review Guide
We will be delivering this document to you soon, but basically, you will find the guidelines for signs/symptoms, temperature screenings, nursing assessment, isolation vs quarantine, what happens if student develops symptoms at school, testing/instructions, returning to school, and what will be done if a student / staff member tests positive. This document is the collaboration of the Ellsworth County School Health Team and will be finalized soon. Be on the lookout for that!
MASKS and CLASSROOM SAFETY
As you are aware, MASKS will be worn at school. Mask breaks will be taken as often as schedules and staffing will allow. Classroom and Transition between classes is a high priority, as is keeping class size and groupings as consistent as possible. This is for student/staff safety and to keep contact tracing issues at a minimum to better track student movement in a best, consistent pattern as possible.
- If your student has seasonal allergies, their signs/symptoms will mimic those of COVID-19. We appreciate this, however, if the student is sneezing / coughing / producing nasal discharge, they will be assessed and could be sent home and recommended to see their physician as a precaution. Our goal is to reduce the spread of respiratory droplets and virus. This is a collective decision from the county health group.
- Washing of Masks: Please remember to wash masks daily, along with those jackets and sweatshirts that get worn often.
- Frequent handwashing with soap and water will be done at school, with the use of hand sanitizer in cases where handwashing isn’t as convenient.
- Temperatures will be taken before entering the bus/school in the morning and again before lunch. Please do not give your student a fever reducing medication in the morning. If they have a fever, do not send them to school.
- There will be frequent education given to staff and students throughout the school year to help remind all of us of best practices to keep safe.
- There will be signage put up around the buildings to remind visitors, staff, and students of the precautions and safety measures we are taking.
- We will have isolation care rooms, separate from the health office, in which students who present with signs/symptoms will wait for assessment and pick up by parents. The room will then be sanitized by staff as soon as possible when room is cleared. If you are called to pick up your child, please be ready and have arrangements made to have them picked up as soon as possible, due to lack of space issues in the event we get several students to the office.
- Please begin introducing your child to the notion of wearing a mask, going longer periods every day with the mask on, until they are better used to them before school starts.