The latest news on swine flu is grim and seems to be getting grimmer. More child deaths from swine flu in the last six weeks then for an entire normal flu season. Nearly half (44%)of the patients hospitalized have NO predisposing, or underlying condition. Half the children dying are teenagers--an age group usually the LEAST likely to have flu complications.
In hospitals, desperate measures have had to be taken to try to save patients in which H1N1 (swine flu) has caused ARDS--Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. These measures include a 'cut down' to an artery and directing arterial blood though an oxygenating machine because intubation and mechanical ventilation are not enough to increase oxygen saturation of the blood sufficiently to prevent death.
Even with EXTREME measures at least half of ARDS patients are dying. Some from systemic infections introduced through the cut down, others because there is no way to get enough oxygen into blood, yet others die from infections caused by H1N1 leaving the lungs and attacking and stopping the heart.
Yet in VUSD, students are NOT being sent home with severe coughs. No matter how severe the coughing, students are being sent back to class. Only students with high temperatures are sent home. Low grade or no fever and severe cough are sent back to class to infect other students. Surprisingly some 30 to 40% of those infected with H1N1 have NO fever whatsoever, unlike ordinary flu.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/13/health/13fever.html
In a world wide and nation wide epidemic of a very severe illness, why is our VUSD policy to return students with severe coughs to the classroom when teachers send them to the nurse?
I believe there can only be one reason--ADA--average daily attendance. Schools are paid by the state based on students being in class. Students at home mean NO money for the district.
In the past California schools were still paid by the state when a child stayed home sick if a signed parental note was sent with the student when the student returned. But no more. The state changed its attendance laws and now only students physically present in the classroom are counted for ADA and paid for by the state. This new requirement is the likely reason for the Joyce Bales, "keep sick kids in class" policy.
Under the Bales policy, children are only sent home for the big three, "burning up", bleeding, or barfing.
Burning up is defined by Bales as a fever over 100 degrees yet it has been known for months that many with swine flu never have a fever at all. Teachers who send children in just for coughing are treated as 'naughty'.
See her letter to parents here: http://www.vusd.k12.ca.us/news/News%20Archives/H1N1%20Flu%20Virus%20(Swine%20Flu)%20Information%20letter.pdf
Not only is Joyce Bales' VUSD policy dangerous to our students who may be sick with H1N1, but it also is contrary to the goal of improving ADA. Keeping sick students in our classrooms may give us ADA for that day for that ONE student, but now he has had a chance to infect a whole lot more students who may stay home in the following days. ADA for the school as a whole declines because of Bales' ill conceived policy. It's penny wise and pound foolish.
Isolating the sick is the only way to slow or stop a flu infection. Why aren't we doing that in VUSD?
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