As students arrive, schools deal with H1N1

HARLEM VALLEY — School is back in session, and for both district superintendents in Webutuck and Pine Plains that means trying for the impossible: keeping students, staff and administrators perfectly healthy. While everyone acknowledged that’s an impossible feat, in light of the looming presence of H1N1 (swine) flu, the Harlem Valley school districts have made plans to ensure that its populations stay safe.

“At the moment we intend to follow every piece of advice we are given,†said Webutuck’s interim Superintendent David Paciencia. “We’ll obviously stress from day one proper hygiene, remind students to constantly wash their  hands, if they sneeze to sneeze into their elbow, a cloth, tissues if they have them. If they’re extremely ill or slightly ill to report to the nurse.

“If you put 900 kids under one roof there will be all kinds of illness, whether it’s the flu, a simple cold or reactions to something else,†he added. “If anything happens, parents will be contacted, we will follow up accordingly with the Department of Health and the family’s physician. The key is communication, from the student to us and then from us to the parents.â€

Pine Plains Superintendent Linda Kaumeyer agreed.

“It’s a team effort here at Pine Plains,†she said, adding that because of last year’s initial outbreak the district already had some experience with dealing with the virus. Thus far there have  been no cases of H1N1 at Stissing Mountain Middle/High School, nor in any of the district’s elementary buildings.

“We’ve got a great staff of school nurses who have done a terrific job of communicating with students and parents and me, on a regular daily basis, and we try to communicate to students to remind them of the appropriate hygiene steps needed to minimize exposure to the flu.â€

Kaumeyer added that students, and school personnel as well, should also take care to avoid the regular, seasonal flu, to learn more about it and possibly get a vaccine for that in addition to the H1N1 vaccine. That, of course, is depending on whether the H1N1 vaccine becomes available.

“In terms of vaccinations, I don’t know the status of that,†Paciencia said. “If and when and how available [the vaccines may become], or anything else that comes from the Department of Health, I will address and react to accordingly. But anything I’ve received we’ve gotten on top of. Primarily the advice so far is to practice good hygiene. One thing I’ve not seen is for students not to share water bottles, because teens share anything.â€

There are plenty of tips for staying healthy — including washing hands frequently, how to sneeze, how to cough, avoiding people who are ill, staying home while sick, etc. — available online. There’s also more information on the H1N1 virus itself at flu.gov.

Governor David Paterson stated in a recent press release that the state is taking a multi-agency strategy and said he’s confident the government and the schools are ready to handle the pandemic.

“Nothing is more important than the health of our families, especially our children. We have aggressively prepared for a return of the novel H1N1 virus this fall, and New Yorkers should be confident that their government is doing everything it can to keep their children and families safe and healthy,†he stated. “Over the last several months, we have worked with state agencies to develop a comprehensive plan to minimize the effects of the virus and will implement those measures. Our communities, particularly our schools, are prepared to handle any potential outbreak.â€

Meanwhile, Kaumeyer said she’s bracing for reality.

“I think we can expect there will be some cases because the authorities are telling us the virus is already in our area and there are families who are infected,†she said. “We want to provide support and minimize the spread of the virus — that’s our goal.â€