San Dimas Community Hospital is donating more than 600 mini-bottles of hand sanitizer to the Bonita School District for distribution to teachers and staff.
Teachers come into contact with children and are at high risk of contracting and spreading seasonal illnesses, including colds and the flu.
“Being in a school district, we work around a lot of kids and adults, and things are easy to spread around,” said Lois Klein, Assistant Superintendent of Education for the Bonita School District. “The more we can prevent our staff from getting sick, the better we can be for our kids. We’d like to provide our staff a little token to help them stay healthy, because we value our staff and the work they do.”
The goal is also to keep children healthy and in school, because educational performance is correlated with attendance.
“If the teachers stay healthier, the kids will stay healthier, too,” said Klein.
Hand sanitizer is not recommended for children, so this will be for adult use only.
“As medical providers, it’s our goal to keep the community healthy,” said Gregory Brentano, chief executive officer of San Dimas Community Hospital. “Schools are a hub of social activity, and therefore a place where lots of germs get spread. Whatever we can do to prevent the spread of infection is a good thing, and we’re happy to help in this way.”
Flu season typically peaks in January or February, and seems to have reached its peak this year, but experts say we are not out of the woods yet.
This year, the influenza vaccine protection rates were on the lower end of effectiveness. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the vaccine was only effective in 56 percent of the people who received the shot, with much lower rates for those over 65.
If you are older than 65, pregnant, or have chronic health conditions and have flu symptoms, it is important to seek treatment with antiviral medications,
which can reduce the severity of the illness. Flu symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headaches, chills and fatigue.
Researchers think that a universal flu vaccine could be possible within the next decade, but until then annual flu shots will help protect those most at risk. Many of next season’s flu vaccines will cover four strains of influenza, rather than the three that most protect against now.
There are still influenza vaccines available at local hospitals, and the CDC recommends ongoing vaccination as long as the flu viruses are circulating. So, it’s not too late if you haven’t been vaccinated.
Call San Dimas Community Hospital at 909-599- 6811 or Montclair Hospital Medical Center at 909-625- 5411 for details.
For details on this article, contact Sarah Dale Schwald at Prime Healthcare Management Inc., 909-235-4320 or sschwald@primehealthcare.com.
