Nurse describes dealing with pandemic in Havre schools

Havre Public Schools Nurse Jeri Erickson said dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic in the schools, so far, has gone well.

She said there are four main things she likes to talk to students about COVID-19, as well as to have the teachers talk to their students about, which are washing hands, which is the number one thing to prevent infection; proper use of face masks; social distancing and not coming to school when sick.

"We kind of have been working with those things with the kids, all of the teachers have those top four things, they know that they are supposed to bring those up to kids every single day," Erickson said. "... The teachers know that they are to mention these things on a daily basis to the kids. Show them actually what social distancing is and what proper mask wearing looks like, and how you are supposed take it off and put on." 

Everything is going great, she said.

She thought the masks were going to be a pain for the students to be wearing properly and that they would complain about it and not be compliant - but the students have been amazing, she said. 

"Every school that I go to I haven't had to say one word to any child," she said. "They have their mask on when they are supposed to, they are wearing it properly, it is over their nose, it is under their chin, they are doing amazing."

Right now, her job involves walking around the schools and room checking to see if social distancing is happening and if it is not happening to make sure the students have their masks on during that period, she said.

She added that when students cannot social distance they have to have their masks on, if they are socially distanced they don't have to wear their mask in the classroom.

"The teachers are doing an amazing job at that," Erickson said. "I'll walk by a classroom and I can tell it's not socially distanced perfectly by the 6 feet, and every kid in that classroom has a mask on. The teachers are doing an awesome job with it as well."

Before COVID-19, she said, she used to be a different school every day of the week. For example, Highland Park Early Primary School on Mondays, Lincoln-McKinley Primary School on Tuesdays, Sunnyside Intermediate School on Wednesdays, Havre Middle School on Thursdays and Havre High School on Fridays.

She said now she goes where she is needed and has provided a COVID-19 Screening Flowchart that was made in accordance with the Hill County Health Department that each school can follow.

"That makes it really easy because if they follow my flow chart they don't necessarily have to call me every time," Erickson said. "It hasn't been crazy yet, let's just say that."

She said if a student has any of the following symptoms they will be sent home no matter what: Fever of 100.4 degrees fahrenheit or greater, cough, sore throat, loss of taste or smell, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, diarrhea, nausea or vomiting, muscle and body aches.

Once the student presents any of those symptoms they are then escorted to an isolation room designated by staff, the student will have their temperature taken and a parent or guardian will come pick the student up.

But if a student has fatigue, headache or nasal congestion they will not be sent home. They will be sent home if they have any those in combination with other symptoms.

"Students must remain symptom- free without symptom-reducing medication for 24 hours prior to returning to school," the flow chart says.

Erickson said she knows children are going to play with their friends outside of school and during school, but they just need to be safe. 

"If you're sick don't go play with your friends," she said. "If you're feeling anything at all abnormal (don't) go play, and stay home, distance yourself from people until you start to feel better."

She said the two biggest things are handwashing and staying home if sick.

Those two things have been preventive measures before COVID-19, she said, but now it needs to be more incorporated in people's thought process to get them thinking about it now.

"I think kids are really good with it - kids are doing better than adults are with the whole social distancing, the mask wearing and remembering to wash their hands," Erickson said. "I feel like they are just doing amazing and it's really surprised me."

She said she thinks everybody's goal is to keep the students in school as long as possible.

In order to do that, she said, the students need to be washing their hands, social distancing, wearing their masks properly and she thinks that's what is going to keep them in school for the longest time possible.