Clean Hands Save Lives!

Now is a great time to remind everyone of the routine actions you can do every day to prevent the spread of germs.

General health tips
This year’s cold and flu season is expected to include both the regular flu and the H1N1 (swine) flu, so it’s important that everyone try to follow these simple everyday steps to protect their health:



→If possible, try to avoid contact with people who are ill.
→If you have to cough or sneeze, don’t do it in your hand. Use a Kleenex or cover your mouth with your sleeve.
→Try to avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
→Wash hands often with soap and water.
→If soap and water is not available, use alcohol-based hand sanitizers.


What CPS is doing
CPS is taking a proactive approach to monitoring and managing this year’s cold and flu season. CPS has put several procedures into place that will monitor and manage any major outbreaks:



→Surveillance. In order to be proactive it’s important to know school by school exactly what is occurring with attendance. Attendance will be used as an indicator that will let us know if there is a potential health problem at a school.

→Partnerships. In conjunction with the Chicago Department of Public Health, new guidelines have been established for our schools that allow us to track the virus and take action quickly when there is believed to be a case or many cases of H1N1 to keep it from spreading throughout the District.

→Monitoring your child’s symptoms. Any student with a temperature of more than 100 degrees will be sent home. And through our partnership with the health department, we’ll determine what other symptoms should be used to trigger a dismissal from class.



What you can do
Encourage your child to tell you immediately if he or she feels sick or starts exhibiting flu-like symptoms including headache, tiredness, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, or diarrhea and vomiting. If you or your child doesn't feel well, stay home and seek medical care if needed.

If your child feels sick at school, tell him or her to go to the office immediately and let school personnel know. You will be notified immediately if your child is exhibiting flu-like symptoms. If you suspect your child may have the flu, please contact your healthcare provider.




If your child feels sick at school, tell him or her to go to the office immediately and let school personnel know. You will be notified immediately if your child is exhibiting flu-like symptoms. If you suspect your child may have the flu, please contact your healthcare provider.

• Clean Hands Save Lives_.pdf (1 MB)