1. Conference Call for School Districts
Responding to Ebola
Conference Call for School Districts
Hosted by Dallas ISD
October 17, 2014

2. Responding to Ebola Conference Call Norms
Please mute your phone (press *6 to mute/unmute)
Please hold questions until the end of the presentation
If possible, please have one designated speaker asking questions from your district

3. Responding to Ebola Purpose:
Share information about Ebola with North Texas ISDs
Give an overview of Dallas ISD’s response to Ebola
Answer questions about responding to Ebola
Provide resources to help ISDs communicate about Ebola with their students, staff, parents, and communities

4. Responding to Ebola Agenda Ebola: Symptomology and Transmission
Ebola in North Texas
Dallas ISD’s Response to Ebola
Implications for Schools of Suspected and Confirmed Ebola Cases
Resources regarding Ebola

5. Ebola: Symptomology and Transmission
Symptoms* of Ebola infection include:
Fever (100.4°F or greater CDC Update 10/15/2014)
Diarrhea
Severe headache
Stomach pain
Muscle pain
Unexplained bleeding or bruising
Vomiting
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

6. Ebola in North Texas
Sept 26- Thomas Eric Duncan seeks treatment at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital (THPH); sent home with antibiotics
Sept 28- Duncan transported to THPH by 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
Oct 10- Nina Pham, a nurse who cared for Duncan, goes to THPH with an elevated temperature
Oct Pham tests positive for Ebola
Oct 14- Amber Vinson, a 2nd nurse who cared for Duncan, goes to THPH with elevated temperature Had flown to Cleveland on 10th and returned to Dallas on the 13th
Oct 15- Vinson tests positive for Ebola; is transported to Emory University
Oct Pham transported to NIH-Bethesda

7. Implications for Schools of Suspected and Confirmed Ebola Cases
Do you have an established emergency operations team to respond to an Ebola-related situation?
How will you communicate with your local health department and other government agencies?
How will ensure clear lines of communication between your district and the local health department and CDC regarding updates to protocols?
Do school nurses have the right training, know who to call, and have the necessary supplies?
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 students identified as possibly having exposure and clean the vehicles if necessary?
What will your protocols be for cleaning facilities visited by individuals identified as possibly having exposure?
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 a multi-day (up to 21 day) 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?

8. Dallas ISD’s Response to Ebola

9. Resources regarding 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

10. Resources regarding 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 messages

11. Resources regarding Ebola
Questions
Dallas ISD Contact Information
Bill Avera, Asst. Police Chief/Emergency Operations Manager
Jon Dahlander- Executive Director of News and Information
Justin Coppedge- Deputy Chief of Staff
Sherry Christian- Executive Director of Student Support Services
Suzanne Kubelka- Director of Health Services
Willie Burroughs- Executive Director of Maintenance and Facility Services