Dr. Fishbein attending "Superintendents' Summit" on Swine Flu

Next Tuesday, Superintendent Dan Fishbein will attend a "pandemic influenza summit for district superintendents and local health officials" sponsored by the New Jersey Department of Education, in collaboration with the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services.

(From the press release:)
According to Education Commissioner Lucille Davy, the goal "is to call attention to the need for planning for a possible statewide H1N1 outbreak before the traditional opening day of school issues take center stage."

"It is important that health officials and school officials collaborate on pandemic influenza plans so that we can respond in a coordinated effort as we plan for a resurgence of the H1N1 influenza virus this fall," said Heather Howard, Commissioner for the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services.

Topics to be covered at the summit include updates on the latest information from the federal Centers for Disease Control and the US Department of Education, a discussion of New Jersey’s pandemic plan, guidance on school closures and the continuity of educational services and "best practices" that can help school districts develop plans to prevent the spread of H1N1 address closure issues should they arise.
(end of press release)

The federal government recently released new guidelines for school districts to follow in the event of a flu pandemic this fall. I'll post some of those guidelines tomorrow... (along with the next "chapter" in our Board of Ed self evaluation).

Flu Update

For those of you wondering what's the latest on Swine Flu in the Ridgewood schools...Dr. Fishbein and our District Physician have been in frequent contact with the Health Department and the Department of Education, and Dr. Fishbein has been updating the members of the Board of Ed as well as parents. We are following all the protocols specified by the Health Department. Currently there are several Ridgewood students with Type A flu, but so far none of them has tested positive for H1N1 (Swine Flu). A diagnosis of Swine Flu/H1N1 can only be made by the Health Dept and it takes several days. There have been reports of local doctors giving diagnosis of Swine Flu based on a single doctor visit, and this is wrong.

Dr. Fishbein will provide an update early next week on the district website, and I'll include a link here. For now, here's a link to the homepage where you'll find his most recent letter on 6/1.

The most important advice is: if your child is not well, please keep him/her home. (And, of course, the other most important thing: keep washing your hands!)