As a concerned public is left to wait and see if the H1N1 virus spreads among school populations as quickly as it did in the spring, Garden City Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Feirsen sought to reassure parents that the district is also closely monitoring the situation.

“Since the spring, when the virus first occurred, we have been in constant contact with health organizations to give us guidance and inform us of best practices,” Dr. Feirsen said at the Sept. 10th meeting of the Board of Education.

He said it is not uncommon for him to receive two to three communications a day from one or more of these organizations, which include the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the state and county Health Departments and BOCES health and safety consultants. The district has also participated in conferences, Webinars and phone conferences. District officials now have a weekly phone conference with the county’s department of health.

“We are taking our advice directly from these organizations in terms of, what is the best practice for controlling the spread of the disease? What steps should we be taking to create precautions? What information should we be providing to our students, staff, parents and the community at large?” Dr. Feirsen said.

Dr. Ronald Feinstein, the district’s physician, and Patrick Mehr, the district’s director of facilities, attended the Board meeting at Dr. Feirsen’s request to address the issue and answer questions.

“The district has an unbelievable staff of nurses and professionals paying extreme attention to try to control any H1N1 that may have permeated the system here,” Dr. Feinstein said. “We are constantly being bombarded and provided with information from the various departments of health, and your staff has been right on top of implementing almost all of it.”

The primary prevention method the school district will advocate is vaccination. Parents are encouraged to contact their health care provider to find out when vaccinations for the seasonal flu, as well as H1N1 (which was recently approved by the FDA), will begin to be administered. There are no plans at this time for the school district to be a vaccination site.

Dr. Feinstein said that the district will emphasize “respiratory etiquette” to help control the spread of infections. This includes practicing good hygiene by washing your hands, and covering your mouth and nose when sneezing into a tissue.

The district will send home any student who develops a fever of 100 degrees or higher. “The latest recommendations at this time is that the student needs to be fever-free for 24 hours, off of any kind of antipyretic, before they return to school,” Dr. Feinstein said. “We are going to try to encourage parents to follow those recommendations.”

Mehr said all common areas are being disinfected every evening, including but not limited to computer keyboards, doorknobs, light switches, water fountains, telephones, hand rails, desk tops, bathrooms and locker rooms. The district uses four different disinfectants registered by the Environmental Protection Agency which appear on the state department of education’s list of approved cleaners proven effective against influenza. However, Dr. Feirsen reminded the public that it is impossible to keep a school building sterile.

Many hand sanitizer dispensers are located throughout the district, and 15 have recently been added. They all contain a 60 percent alcohol-based sanitizing product. Dr. Feirsen discouraged students from bringing their own hand sanitizers into school. “The problem with 60 percent alcohol is, this is alcohol,” Dr. Feirsen said. “We don’t want people using it unnecessarily. It’s toxic in concentrations.”

He said at the primary levels, soap and water is available in every classroom, which has been proven to be the best way to clear hands of germs. Hand sanitizers are available in areas where soap and water is not accessible, but Dr. Feirsen said he recommends that children at this level use soap and water since they are more prone to touching their eyes and mouth. Dr. Feinstein noted that the average adult touches their face an average of 47 times in three hours.