WHEN NEVER HERE HAPPENS HERE

Transcription

1 WHEN NEVER HERE HAPPENS HERE Dallas ISD s Response to Ebola TASA Midwinter 2015 Mile Miles Superintendent, Dallas ISD Justin Coppedge Deputy Chief of Staff, Dallas ISD 1

2 RESPONDING TO EBOLA Agenda: A Brief History of Ebola in Dallas The District Response Ebola Today Lessons Learned- Implications for Future Crises Q & A 2

3 A BRIEF HISTORY OF EBOLA The Ebola virus is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids of individuals showing symptoms. A person carrying the Ebola virus cannot spread the virus if they are not showing symptoms. Symptoms appear 2-21 days after exposure, usually 8-12 days Exposed individuals do not have virus if they show no symptoms for 21 days after exposure Symptoms of Ebola infection include: Fever (100.4 F or greater CDC Update 10/15/2014) Severe headache Muscle pain Vomiting Diarrhea Stomach pain Unexplained bleeding or bruising 3

4 A BRIEF HISTORY OF EBOLA 4

5 A BRIEF HISTORY OF EBOLA 5

6 EBOLA DALLAS 2014 Sept 26/28- Thomas Eric Duncan seeks treatment at hospital and sent home with antibiotics; returns to hospital via ambulance Sept 30- CDC confirms Duncan tested positive for Ebola Oct 1- Dallas ISD receives confirmed list of 5 students with direct exposure to Duncan. Students directed to stay home for 21- day observation period Oct 8- Duncan passes away Oct 10- Oct 12- Oct 14- A nurse who cared for Duncan goes to hospital with an elevated temperature Nurse tests positive for Ebola A 2 nd nurse who cared for Duncan goes to hospital with elevated temperature Oct 15/16- Infected nurses transported to Emory University/NIH- Bethesda for treatment Oct 22/24- Nurses releases from hospital after successfully treatment for Ebola Nov 7- Dallas declared Ebola- free after all individuals on monitoring lists show no symptoms for 21 6 days

7 DALLAS ISD RESPONDS TO EBOLA COORDINATION COMMUNICATION COLLABORATION 7

8 DALLAS ISD RESPONDS TO EBOLA COORDINATION Determine command structure Identify key contact(s) for each functional area and schedule check ins Document information as it becomes available; it gets confusing quickly Assign, and track completion of, tasks 8

9 DALLAS ISD RESPONDS TO EBOLA 9

10 DALLAS ISD RESPONDS TO EBOLA 10

11 DALLAS ISD RESPONDS TO EBOLA 11

12 DALLAS ISD RESPONDS TO EBOLA COMMUNICATION Set Expectations from the Beginning: True, Timely, Transparent Anticipate questions and concerns and address them proactively Ensure that all stakeholders have access to the information Translate into as many languages as possible (do rolling release as necessary) Use as many different channels as possible (phone, social, print, web, ) Use communications to set tone 12

13 DALLAS ISD RESPONDS TO EBOLA 13

14 DALLAS ISD RESPONDS TO EBOLA Blog updates from Dallas ISD (Spanish & English) FAQs about Ebola (Spanish & English) FAQs about Ebola in Schools (Spanish & English) Resources for talking to children about Ebola Parent letters in English, Spanish, Chin, Arabic, Burmese, Karen, Vietnamese, Nepali, & Swahili Links to Centers for Disease Control and Dallas County Health and Human Services Ebola Sites 14

15 DALLAS ISD RESPONDS TO EBOLA thehub.dallasisd.org District s online News and Information page Featured stories on Ebola (link back to Health Updates page) Video news reports from campuses Other Resources Provided B- roll from within schools provided to media Facebook and Twitter (@dallasschools) messages 15

16 DALLAS ISD RESPONDS TO EBOLA COLLABORATION Know which agencies are involved and who to contact Make sure the agencies know who to contact Imbed with other agencies when feasible Share information and action Receive input but be prepared to act unilaterally if necessary 16

17 EBOLA TODAY CDC continues to monitor ongoing outbreak in Guinea, Sierra Leone, or Liberia No known active cases within the United States Dallas ISD has instituted an Ebola screening procedure for all staff, students, parents, volunteers, and other stakeholders visiting Dallas ISD property until further notice. 17

18 EBOLA TODAY Dallas ISD Ebola Risk Screening Procedure Any stakeholder who can answer yes to any of the following questions at any time must contact a school nurse or the Health Services department prior to visiting Dallas ISD, Have you Traveled from West Africa, specifically Guinea, Sierra Leone, or Liberia in the last 21 days, or Had contact with an individual infected with the Ebola virus, or Been on a health monitoring list for Ebola? 18

19 LESSONS LEARNED IMPLICATIONS FOR THE NEXT NEVER HERE As the world becomes even more interconnected, especially with air travel, public health crises in other countries are more likely to impact the United States Crises are less likely to be confined to large urban areas. Suburban and rural communities are more likely to be impacted than they have historically. 19

20 LESSONS LEARNED IMPLICATIONS FOR THE NEXT NEVER HERE Public health crises are different than other crises that school districts have encountered because of the potential for misunderstanding and community- wide panic Public Health crises are challenging because of the balance between patient privacy and the community s demand for information 20

21 LESSONS LEARNED IMPLICATIONS FOR THE NEXT NEVER HERE Do you have an established emergency operations team to respond to a public health crisis? How will you communicate with your local health department and other government agencies? Are you prepared to quickly provide communications to staff and parents in all appropriate languages via all available channels? How will you coordinate with your transportation department/provider to determine which vehicles were used to transport impacted students? What will your protocols be for cleaning facilities visited by involved individuals? Do you know how you would contract with a company to remove contaminated material? Will students/staff absences by those who choose to stay at home be considered excused or unexcused? How will you staff schools if there is a higher than normal staff absence rate? How will you continue to provide educational services to any students who have been directed by health officials to stay home for an extended period? How will you prepare campus staff and students for the return of students who had been directed by health officials to stay home? How will you ensure access to mental health services for students, staff, parents, and community members? 21

22 RESOURCES REGARDING EBOLA Questions For More Information and Resources: Questions about Dallas ISD s response to Ebola- Justin Coppedge (jcoppedge@dallasisd.org) Copy of today s PowerPoint- Laura Santos (lasantos@dallasisd.org) Resources and information used/provided by Dallas ISD- dallasisd.org/healthupdates. Click on Resources for School Districts 22