Participate in the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness for Schools Broadcast

On May 17, 2007 the California Department of Health Services Immunization Branch and Emergency Preparedness Office, the California Department of Education, and the California Distance Learning Health Network will launch a multi-media training program to prepare local health department personnel and county and district school administrators for a possible influenza pandemic. 

This training will be held from 9:00 am to 10:30 am PT and will include a live broadcast, a tabletop exercise, and an online toolkit.  The broadcast will also be available as a webcast and a DVD will be available for purchase in early June, so that local health departments, county offices of education, school districts, and schools can all leverage the tools and information for their own planning efforts.

The broadcast will cover topics such as school closure, continuity of education, average daily attendance, issues specific to certain populations, and ways schools can incorporate pandemic flu planning into their existing safe school plans.  The broadcast is intended to enable participants to: describe the difference between seasonal influenza and pandemic influenza; describe the role of local health departments during a pandemic emergency; describe age-group specific pandemic influenza issues; and describe age-appropriate strategies for school-based preparedness and potential issues specific to schools and other education institutions during a pandemic emergency.

The tabletop exercise will include a scenario based on a possible pandemic emergency during which participants develop a portion of a plan or analyze their existing plan, exercise their plan, and debrief the results.  After this exercise, participants will be able to: list gaps and vulnerabilities in their school preparedness plans; identify potential partners to include in the planning process; and identify next steps for improving preparedness plans. 

In addition, web-based planning and preparedness tools and other resources to help school districts and their schools tailor own preparedness plans have already been made available online at http://www.readycaschools.org/. 

To help facilitate a tabletop exercise between the day after the broadcast and early June, an unedited version of the broadcast may be requested by contacting Max Nichols at mnichols@projects.sdsu.edu or (619) 594-5933.  For additional information, including how to register to the broadcast, please visit the California Distance Learning Health Network website or contact Yvette Huerta at yhuerta@projects.sdsu.edu or 619-594-5912.

Source: “Pandemic Influenza Preparedness for Schools,” California Distant Learning Health Network Website, 2007.