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Wednesday, 14 November 2007 |
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Page 1 of 2 By Buck Traxler, I-O Editor
 STAPH IS EVERYWHERE – Jim Carroll, the CHS A.D. and transportation director, talks with Dennis Fowler, a territory manager for Heartland Paper Co., who put on a demonstration Thursday for the District 10 kitchen and janitorial staff and school principals on how best to deal with staph infections and the new “super bug” MRSA. I-O Photo by Buck Traxler
Thursday afternoon, the janitorial staff, kitchen staff from Meadowlark and building principals took in a one-hour briefing from Dennis Fowler of Heartland Paper Co. A sideline of the business is disinfectant products. Fowler has been giving cleaning and chemical presentations not only to schools but also other organizations and businesses for 23 years.
Before his talk to the staff, he visited school buildings and said, “My overall impression of this place is pretty good.” He graded the schools with a B+ rating.
While he would not name any other schools he has visited in our area, Fowler told the I-O Conrad was in better shape than others, “Now we need to bring it up to an A+.”
Asked if he felt that schools should be closed because of a MRSA infection, Fowler said, “That decision should be made by school officials in consultation with local public health officials.”
He thought a Kentucky school system that closed 23 schools affecting over 10,000 students for having one case of MRSA was a little extreme. “It is not necessary to close schools because of a MRSA infection in a student,” he noted.
That sentiment echoes the feeling of Pondera County Health Nurse Cynthia Grubb.
It is important to note that simple measurers such as hand hygiene and covering the infections can prevent MRSA transmission.
He told the staff that it was important to read the labels on all cleaners to make sure they are used safely and effectively.
And, like nurses Julia Drishinski and Grubb said last week, Fowler cautioned personnel that students should not share personal items, such as towels, knee, arm, and elbow pads, clothing or uniforms. “It’s (MRSA) living on us just waiting to move on,” Fowler noted.
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