Awareness
    Be aware of health issues in your community. Know local school district poli-
    cies and
    happenings regarding illnesses.
    Cleanliness
    If needed, provide extra personnel and/or supplies to clean and sanitize chil-
    dren's rooms
    even more stringently during critical seasons.
    Policies
    Make sure health policies are in place. Include specific ways to measure signs of illness (fever,
    diahrrea, vomiting, rash, etc). Include room cleaning and sanitizing requirements. Provide copies of
    these for parents and leaders.
    Publicity
    Provide brochures or flyers for visitors. Post policies on bulletin boards and in classrooms. Send
    home reminder notices to parents at critical times.
    Training
    All leaders must know and comply with health policies. Include procedures in annual or seasonal
    training sessions
    and regular avenues of communication, such as weekly leader emails.
    Education
    Keep your leaders and parents informed about current health issues. Develop health information
    forms for quick
    response to issues such as exposure to lice. Provide email links to helpful websites such as the Cen-
    ters for
    Disease Control cdc.gov or the American Academy of Pediatrics www.aap.org/parents
    or Kid-
    sHealth
    kidshealth.org/parent or links from these sites regarding specific seasonal diseases, or ones that
    seem to be
    "going around."
    Practice Good PR
    If a parent is concerned about a child being exposed to a disease at church, or if you must remove a
    sympto-
    matic child from a classroom, handle the conversation with care, compassion, confidentiality, and
    professionalism.
    Practice What You Preach
    Model the good health practices you want others to follow, such as washing hands
    frequently and covering coughs. Stay home if you are sick, and encourage your
    leaders (as difficult as that is) to do the same.
    Provide Sanitizer
    If possible, encourage your church to provide hand sanitizer at multiple stations

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