Teacher and Staff Response Guidelines

The ESC of Central Ohio recognizes that its teachers and other staff members will be in a direct observational role in maintaining student health and decreasing the potential for the spread of the H1N1 virus. For this reason, teachers and staff will be expected to adhere to the following guidelines during normal school hours.

• Educate and encourage students to cover their mouth and nose with a tissue when they cough or sneeze. Also, provide them with easy access to tissues. Remind them to cover coughs or sneezes using their elbow instead of their hand when a tissue is not available.
  
• Remind students to practice good hand hygiene and provide the time and supplies (easy access to running water and soap or alcohol-based hand cleaners) for them to wash their hands as often as necessary.
  
• Be a good role model by practicing good hand hygiene and covering your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.
  
• Keep an eye out for sick students and send them to the Health Services office for further evaluation. Sick people should stay at home until at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever or signs of a fever (without the use of fever-reducing medicine). Remember that flu of any type is represented by a grouping of symptoms. Sending students to the Health Services office for minor complaints that, occurring singularly, do not represent flu symptoms will actually encourage the spread of illness as students come in contact with one another in a Health Services setting.
  
• Clean surfaces and items which are more likely to have frequent hand contact such as desks, door knobs, keyboards, or pencil sharpeners, with cleaning agents that are usually used in these areas. Encouraging students in a class effort to maintain a clean environment can be a positive experience if modeled by teachers and staff.
  
• Teachers should also stay home when sick. Stay home until at least 24 hours after you no longer have a fever or signs of a fever (without the use of fever-reducing medicine).
  
• If you are pregnant, have asthma, diabetes, or other conditions that put you at higher risk for complications from the flu, you should speak with your doctor as soon as possible if you develop symptoms of flu-like illness. People at high risk of flu complications who develop flu can benefit from early treatment with antiviral medicines.
  
• If you have children, please be prepared for the care and protection of your family by planning ahead for childcare if your child gets sick or his or her school is dismissed.

Be prepared in case the flu becomes more severe: 

• Be prepared for sick students or staff to stay home for at least 7 days, even if they feel better sooner. Those who are still sick after 7 days should continue to stay home until at least 24 hours after symptoms have gone away.
  
• Allow high-risk students to stay home and coordinate home-based education for them through the building's guidance department and administrators. These students should make this decision in consultation with their physician or other health professional. Written physician directive will be required.
  
• Find ways to increase social distance in your classroom. For example, you might keep students in a consistent classroom and rotate to them if possible, rearrange desks so that there is more space between students, consider canceling classes that bring students together from different rooms, or postpone community trips.

 Please remember that HIPPA prohibits the sharing of health information concerning a specific student.