Kids across Michigan are back in the classroom, and with the return to learning comes the return of seasonal illness.
Schools are preparing for everything from the common cold to Covid-19.
“The last couple of years have been hyper focused on preventative measures of Covid, and it really has impacted all illnesses in general,” said Cadillac Area Public Schools Superintendent Jennifer Brown. “We have air filtration in all of our buildings and classrooms, sanitizing stations throughout our building, as well.”
Brown says they’re only three weeks into school, but they’re ready for the illnesses to come.
“We are in partnership with the health department, always looking at ways that we can put the safety of our students at our highest priority,” she said.
As we head into another school year with Covid, CAPS has been consulting the health department for how to handle the virus two years into the pandemic.
“The discussions we’ve had have really been about handling Covid much like we handle the flu,” Brown said. “We encourage people to get the flu shot or a vaccine.”
They also have their Wellness Center available and a school nurse for CAPS students.
“We can provide sports physicals, there’s physical health, mental health, they’ve done dentistry there,” said Brown. “It’s a really nice service provided for our students and their families and it breaks down barriers for transportation so kids can leave class and see a physician or counselor when they need it.”
Shepherd’s Elementary School Nurse Alayna Nederhoed, BSNRN, NCSN says they have a few illnesses going around right now.
“We’ve had some strep throat, we’ve had some hand, foot, and mouth, but all those illnesses are pretty typical childhood illnesses that we see,” Nederhoed said.
Their biggest concern for the start of the school year is for parents to get their children up to date with vaccines.
“For the last couple of years, especially with Covid hitting and the doctors offices being super hard to get into, a lot of kids have fallen behind on their vaccines,” said Nederhoed. “We like to remind parents that vaccines are super important for school.”
And the narrative of sending kids to school sick have changed.
“It’s been a little bit shift in focus as to ‘oh my kid’s sick we’ll just see if they can make it’, but we’re really encouraging parents if your kid is sick, keep them home until they’re better,” Nederhoed said.
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