Keeping Sickness Out!
Awareness
Be aware of health issues in your community. Know local school district policies and happenings regarding illnesses.
Cleanliness
If needed, provide extra personnel and/or supplies to clean and sanitize children’s rooms even more stringently during critical seasons.
Policies
Make sure health policies are in place. Include specific ways to measure signs of illness (fever, diahrrea, vomiting, rash, etc). Include room cleaning and sanitizing requirements. Provide copies of these for parents and leaders.
Publicity
Provide brochures or flyers for visitors. Post policies on bulletin boards and in classrooms. Send home reminder notices to parents at critical times.
Training
All leaders must know and comply with health policies. Include procedures in annual or seasonal training sessions and regular avenues of communication, such as weekly leader emails.
Education
Keep your leaders and parents informed about current health issues. Develop health information forms for quick response to issues such as exposure to lice. Provide email links to helpful websites such as the Centers for Disease Control www.cdc.gov or the American Academy of Pediatrics www.aap.org/parents or www.kidshealth.org/parent or links from these sites regarding specific seasonal diseases, or ones that seem to be “going around.”
Practice Good PR
If a parent is concerned about a child being exposed to a disease at church, or if you must remove a sympto-matic child from a classroom, handle the conversation with care, compassion, confidentiality, and professionalism.
Practice What You Preach
Model the good health practices you want others to follow, such as washing hands frequently and covering coughs. Stay home if you are sick, and encourage your leaders (as difficult as that is) to do the same.
