Twin Rivers School District Ready For H1N1

The Twin Rivers Unified School District has gone to great lengths to prepare its schools for the inevitable arrival of the H1N1 virus to area schools.

Twin Rivers officials sent home a brochure the first week of school with tips on H1N1 and has listed donations of hand sanitizer and tissue as those items it most needs.

“We are finalizing a follow-up letter and reminder tip sheet for parents about what they can do,” says Trinette Marquis, spokesperson for Twin Rivers USD. “The sheet will include some new information we have learned through CDC conference calls, like the risk of taking aspirin if you have H1N1 symptoms, and the developing risk factors like pregnancy, obesity, asthma, and other medically-fragile conditions.”

The school district’s website also has a banner and link to a special site created last spring about H1N1. The site is continuously updated as the district receives new information and includes links to other sites and communication tools like posters, symptom checklists, and more.

“(Twin Rivers USD has) an H1N1 response and communication plan for current conditions and triggers for additional actions if conditions become more severe,” adds Marquis. “For example, a dedicated H1N1 cleaning crew, supplies, and differentiated communication tools.”

The district reports it is participating in a grant that brings together all north area districts for coordinated Emergency Preparedness, including a Pandemic response plan. H1N1 training and updates have been provided to the district’s employees as part of staff training this year; the next one will be with secretaries tomorrow.

“Our Wellness Coordinator, Bonita Mallory, is working closely with Lynnan Svenson – County Immunization Program and our district will have at least two immunization sites in mid October or so,” says Marquis. “Our district is providing illness absence updates to the county on a regular basis for monitoring purposes.”

Speak Your Mind