SCRUBBY BEAR MAKES
AN APPEARANCE AT
LOCAL SCHOOLS, AND
IN THE NEWS
Scrubby Bear
showed up at
Fisher
Elementary
School in
January to teach
kids about hand
washing.
Scrubby was
assisted by Ann
Bresler, left,
and Ann Collison,
Health & Safety
director and
Health & Safety
assistant
respectively,
from the Iowa
Rivers Chapter
of the American
Red Cross
Sick child? Keep
them home say
school nurses
By GREG
PIERQUET
TIMES-REPUBLICAN
Iowa winters and
runny noses seem
to go hand in
hand, and while
they may be a
fact of life in
Marshalltown
schools, health
officials and
nurses in the
Marshalltown
Community School
District say if
your kid is
sick, keep them
home.
Marshalltown
Community School
District
Director of
Health Services
Marilyn Peasley
said when it
comes to sick
students, each
school nurse
uses their
judgment, but
that any child
with a
temperature of
100 degrees
Fahrenheit or
higher, or any
child with
diarrheal
symptoms or a
contagious cough
should stay home
from school.
While she said
keeping a child
home is the best
option, she said
parents,
teachers and
students can do
their parts to
keep sicknesses
from spreading
at school.
Peasley said
eating plenty of
fruits and
vegetables is an
important part
of avoiding the
flu and other
pesky
sicknesses.
Many know that
already, but
most probably do
not associate
one thing she
mentioned with
avoiding
sickness.
"And get enough
sleep," Peasley
stressed. "I
don't think
students or
adults get
enough sleep,
and before we
know it, our
immune systems
are weakened and
we get sick."
But, Peasley
acknowledged the
inevitable.
People will get
sick. And
when they do,
she offered a
few simple yet
effective ways
to avoid
spreading or
picking up
germs.
"You'd be amazed
at the number of
people who don't
cover their
mouths when they
cough or
sneeze," she
said. "Sneezing
or coughing into
ones sleeve is
the simplest way
to avoid
spreading
germs."
Fisher
Elementary's
school nurse
Paula Rutherford
said she puts
emphasis on
practical means
of keeping
sickness at bay.
"The thing I
stress is good
hand washing,"
she said. "We
encourage
students to wash
before and after
they eat and
after they use
the bathroom in
particular."
Rutherford
employs the
services of
Scrubby Bear
from the Red
Cross, Iowa
Rivers Chapter
in her crusade
to keep students
healthy and in
school.
"We go into the
kindergarten
classrooms
especially and
use the Scrubby
Bear program to
do a hand
washing
demonstration,"
she said, "We
try to focus on
the fact that
germs are
something we
can't see."
Rutherford also
said coughing or
sneezing into
ones sleeve is
best.
"How often does
someone else
touch your
sleeve?" she
said. "But we're
constantly
passing germs to
each other
through the
things we touch
with our hands."
She said she
knows of many
teachers who use
alcohol hand
cleaners that
require no
water, but said
hand washing is
the singular
best thing
anyone, not just
children, can do
to avoid the
influenza and
other types of
viral or
bacterial
sicknesses.
According to the
Department of
Health and Human
Services Centers
for Disease
Control and
Prevention, the
best time to get
the flu shot is
during October
or November, but
peak flu season
is between
January and
March, giving
anyone wishing
to still get
one, time to do
so.
National
Anniversary
Booklet Features
Iowa Rivers
Chapter
Join our
team today!
Here's what we are
looking for
Iowa Rivers
Chapter
709 S.
Center Street
Marshalltown,
IA 50158
641-753-3317
or toll-free
1-877-792-3808
Fax:
641-753-7120
Email:
info@iowarivers-redcross.org
