WCASD Swine Flu Preparedness
June 15, 2009
The West Chester Area School District wishes to assure parents, students, staff and the community that we are following established protocols and are prepared to take whatever steps are necessary to control any potential swine flu outbreak in our schools.
The District works closely with the Chester County Department of Health and their Communicable Disease Department. We are receiving daily, updated information from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, and we feel confident that our cooperation with the pandemic planning efforts of Chester County Emergency Services Department allows us to anticipate and plan for any problems.
Since this is a community concern, we will continue with the actions listed as follows:
- We will keep abreast of all reliable and updated health information regarding this pandemic.
- We encourage you to look for and listen to health updates on your computer, on television and on the radio. The Pennsylvania Department of Health website is an excellent source of reliable information. That link is http://www.dsf.health.state.pa.us/health/cwp/view.asp?q=252990.
- Our staff and school nurses continue to maintain surveillance of student health, and are watchful for symptoms of swine flu that can include: fever, lethargy, decreased appetite, cough, and sore throat.
- If your individual child displays any symptoms of this possible illness at school, parents will be notified of any suspicious case and referred for diagnosis by their Health Care Provider.
- Any marked increase in number of absentees will be reported to the Chester County Health Department immediately.
We appreciate all help possible from parents through the following ways:
- It is always important for your child to be kept home from school if he/she is showing any of the above symptoms of flu, and especially so, now that the World Health Organization has declared a Phase 6 Pandemic Alert level.
- Help us to set a good example and reinforce the teaching of effective hand, cough and sneezing hygiene for our students.
- Inform the school immediately if your child is diagnosed with Swine Flu.
Thank you for your help and cooperation with this health emergency. The West Chester Area School District can assure you that we continue to be prepared for this and other emergencies. We have added specific information through links to our website for parents who wish to monitor this health alert.
Sincerely,
Linda R. Antonowich, Ed. D.
Additional Resources:
Link to CDC:
http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/
1-800-CDC-INFO or 1-800-232-4636
PA Department of Health
http://www.dsf.health.state.pa.us/health/cwp/view.asp?q=252990
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