WACO, Texas (KWTX) – It’s that time of year when the weather cools and fevers rise.

Coughing, sneezing and that miserable feeling that both adults and their children are no strangers to.

It’s the dreaded cold and flu season.

Rhiannon Settles, director of health care at Waco ISD, said students often stop by the nurse’s office in the morning.

Local schools said they are doing their best to keep track of what is making students sick and trying to minimize the spread.

Waco ISD has full-time nurses on 20 of its 24 campuses.

Settles said she receives a weekly report from her staff detailing the number and type of illnesses reported by parents.

For example, last week the district recorded four streptococcal, four Covid and one flu cases.

Settles’ department tracks that information internally, and if cases reach alarming numbers, she alerts the local health department for input.

The next step in the process is disinfection.

“So if we see increased numbers of a particular infectious disease. So it could be flu, RSV, strep, we’ve had a lot of stomach flu so far this year. So if there is one classroom or one team or a certain area of ​​the school, we are seeing a lot of cases and we will be deep cleaning that area.”

Settles said her cleaning staff has been using hospital-grade disinfectants since before the pandemic.

Still, many in the region have learned a lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic and have taken regular precautions to keep their schools and students healthy.

Chilton ISD Superintendent Brandon Hubbard said because it is a much smaller district with just under 600 students in a town of about 900, it is noticeable if even a few students are sick.

That is why the thorough cleaning had been taken one step further and outside help had been hired.

“If you have 40 children in a class and there are 4 or 5 who are not there, you will feel it and notice it really quickly.”

This district has experience with forced cancellation of classes due to illness, which he says is a tough task.

To avoid this situation, it has set up partnerships.

One of them is from a company called GermBlast out of Lubbock.

A team comes every quarter to clean the biofilm, an annoying layer of micro-organisms.

Disinfection takes place with an electrostatic sprayer, after which the team seals the surface.

“We have a product called Germblast Shield and what it is is it’s basically a microscopic barrier between the surface and germs. So anything that lands on that surface is protected and destroyed over time. So it doesn’t really allow the growth of bacteria while it’s on, and also viruses.”

Jordan Barboza of GermBlast said: “Every time you step into a building you kick up micro particles of dust and whatever is in that dust. They are germs, harmful pathogens that can really affect a student. “

He added that crews measure germ levels on surfaces before and after treatment.

The shoot for zero, but the number before treatment can be high in the thousands.

“I have personally been on disinfection jobs or construction sites and have toys in a daycare center that a baby had played with when he was about 5,000.”

During GermBlast’s last visit to Chilton, the highest values ​​were on the buses and in the front office on the counter.

If school cleaning staff learn that, they can focus on those areas.

Schools and their partners are also combating these pesky bugs with education, by teaching children how to wash their hands properly.

Chilton has another partnership in his medicine cabinet.

At Goodyear Health, unlike larger districts, it can swab students to test them for flu, COVID, strep and other viruses.

The nurse can also facilitate a virtual visit with one of her physicians to request a prescription for her students.

For a rural district that’s about 35 miles from a parent’s job or a doctor’s office, this on-campus clinic is convenient.

Hubbard said he took advantage of the clinic.

There is another action schools are taking: keeping parents informed, especially about the latest policy change.

Over the summer, the Board of Nursing introduced a policy requiring a doctor’s note and parental consent to administer over-the-counter medications at school.

They used to be able to give out a dose of Tylenol for children if the parent delivered it.

Now the doctor must state in his or her order that the child may take OTCs as directed on the bottle.

And the medicine must be in the original packaging and must not be expired.

Settles said, “It’s something we need to do to protect the licenses of our campus nurses. They cannot practice beyond their reach. So we started spreading the word through the parent square through campus newsletters and social media to make sure parents were ready for this and I understand it’s an extra step they have to take.

She added that local doctors are aware of the change and are taking steps to make writing those blanket orders easier.

All these efforts require some extra time, attention and some money.

The high-tech GermBlast cleaning costs about $20,000 per year, according to Hubbard.

Some argue that you cannot compromise the health and safety of children.

Hubbard said his district now has a turnout rate of about 97%.

Nurses across the region agree that parents should keep their children home if they have fever, diarrhea or vomiting.

Settles added that parents can even call their campus nurse for advice if they’re unsure whether it’s time to see a doctor.

This time of year, local health departments are starting to spread a message encouraging people to get vaccinated.

Waco ISD is offering vaccines to its staff and will offer an after-school vaccination clinic for parents and students later this year.

It plans to offer flu and COVID shots.

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