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Medical Information & Updates
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H1N1 and Seasonal Flu Information
The flu season will soon be upon us, the H1N1 flu has never really gone away and it is forecast to reappear with intensity.
We at the Southeast Delco School District want to help by providing parent, guardians and staff with up to date and accurate
information in order to minimize the impact of the H1N1 Flu and seasonal flu. We have developed this webpage to provide the
latest information as well as links to organizations and agencies with accurate information. Periodically, we will provide
information over the district’s cable television channel and through telephone calls by way of our Global Connect system.
We will also provide educational information on healthy practices to your student in the classroom and we will periodically
send home information to parents and guardians with your student.
The school district sent home letter with your student on the first day of school and hopefully you had a chance to read it.
If not, you can find the letter below.
If you keep your child home from school due to an illness, please remember to send in an excuse note when your child returns
to school. The excuse note is required by State law and must be received by the school within three (3) days of returning to
school. Even if you called the school and told them your child was out sick, the school still needs the excuse note.
Below you will find the latest and most up to date information being provided by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC),
the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PA DOH), and the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), as well as links to
their websites. Most of your questions can be answered by visiting these sites, especially the
PA Department of Health web site.
Steps Parents Can Take During Flu Season
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends four main ways you and your family may keep from getting sick
with the flu at early childhood programs or at home:
1.Get your children vaccinated for seasonal flu and 2009 H1N1 flu when vaccines are available. Parents and caregivers
of children less than 6 months of age should also get vaccinated for seasonal flu and 2009 H1N1 flu because these children
are at higher risk for flu complications and are too young to be vaccinated.
2.Stay home if you or your child is sick for at least 24 hours after there is no longer a fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit
or 37.8 degrees Celsius measured by mouth) or signs of a fever (chills, feel very warm, flushed appearance, or sweating).
Keeping sick children at home means that they keep their viruses to themselves rather than sharing them with others.
A helpful informational sheet to make this decision is located at the
Keep 'em Home website
3.Practice good hand hygiene by washing your hands often with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing.
Parents and child care providers should wash the hands of children who cannot yet wash themselves, and closely monitor
children who have not yet mastered proper hand hygiene.
4.Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your
elbow or shoulder; not into your hands. Teach your children how to do this.
If Flu Conditions Become More Severe
Decisions about the length of time staff and children with flu-like symptoms should stay home will be made by local
public health officials based on the flu conditions in a particular area.
1. If a decision is made to extend the time sick people should stay home, parents should keep their children at home for
at least 7 days, even if they feel better sooner. People who are still sick after 7 days should continue to stay home until
at least 24 hours after symptoms have completely gone away without the use of fever reducing medications.
2. If a household member is sick, keep all children in the household home from school and early childhood programs for 5
days from the time the first person in the household became sick. Parents should monitor themselves and their children for
fever and other symptoms of the flu.
Follow these steps to prepare for the flu during the 2009-2010 flu season:
1. Plan for child care at home if your child gets sick, your usual early childhood program closes, or school is dismissed.
Check with your employer to find out if you can stay at home to care for your children, work from home, or set up a flexible
work schedule. If this is not possible, find other ways to care for your children at home (such as care by relatives,
neighbors, co-workers, or friends).
2. Plan to monitor the health of your children and others in the household by checking for fever and other symptoms of flu.
3. Identify if you have children who are at higher risk of serious disease from the flu and talk to your healthcare provider
about a plan to protect them during the flu season. Children at higher risk of serious disease from the flu include: children
under 5 years of age and children with certain chronic medical conditions, such as asthma and diabetes.
4. Update emergency contact lists.
5. Collect games, books, DVDs and other items to keep your family entertained if early childhood programs are closed, school
is dismissed, or your child is sick and must stay home.
6. Talk to your early childhood program and school about their pandemic or emergency plan.
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