School superintendent says Heppner High
School has been hit hard with the flu
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By April Sykes
Bessie Wetzel I Newspaper l ibrarx
University o f Oregon
Eugene. OR 97403
M orrow C o u n ty
S c h o o l S u p e rin te n d e n t
M ark B urrow s to ld the
school board on Monday
night that the flu virus has
hit the schools, especially
in south Morrow County.
HEPPNER
However, Burrows said that
except for Heppner High
School, attendance is still
fairly high. He said atten
dance in Irrigon Schools is
still in the low 90 percent;
in Boardm an, it’s in the
high 80 percent; at Hep
pner Elementary, 87 per
cent, however at Heppner
High School, the hardest
hit, attendance had dipped
to around 70 percent on
Monday. On Tuesday, the
absentee rate at HHS was
32.8 percent, the district
office has reported.
Burrows said that
the district has contacted
the Morrow County Health
Department who referred
them to an epidemiologist
who did not recom m end
closing schools. He said
that as o f Monday night,
only two staff members at
HHS have contacted the
flu. As o f Tuesday, none
had been confirmed H 1N 1
(swine flu), since only peo
ple hospitalized with the
flu w ill be tested for H 1N 1,
according to protocol.
“We will continue
to stay in touch with the
state health departm ent,”
he said. He added that if
the schools get to the point
where half o f the students
are out because o f illness
they will revisit the issue.
At that point he said that
tea c h in g w ould be d is
rupted. Burrows said that
so far, the flu has seemed
to last only a few days
and students can return to
school 24 hours after their
fever has disappeared. Bur-
rows stressed that students
should not come to school
if they have a fever.
Concerning financ
es, B urrow s said he had
ju st returned from a trip
to Salem concerning the
district’s financial outlook
and reported that the school
d is tr ic t's fin a n c es look
“very good” for the 2009-
10 school year. However,
he said, “There are some
sh a rk s” in future years,
especially if the tax mea
sures enacted by the state
legislature are repealed by
voters. One of those mea-
-See SCHOOL DISTRICT/
Page FIVE
It is definitely flu season
By Molly Rhea, RN, Di
rector of Nursing, Home
Health & Hospice
unes
V O L . 128
NO. 40
lO P a g e s
W e d n e s d a y , O c to b e r 14, 2 0 0 9
M o rro w Coun ty, H ep p ne r, O re g o n
Due to a sudden
influx o f individuals with
flu-like symptom s to the
em ergency d e p a rtm e n t,
Pioneer Memorial Hospital
(PM H ) is only allow ing
patients and visitors to enter
through the hospital’s front
(main) entrance or the doors
Signs at Pioneer Memorial Hospital direct visitors with Hu-like
adjacent to the emergency symptoms to the emergency room entrance. Molly Rhea, direc
Heppner residents test positive for Influenza A
According to Sher-
ee Sm ith, public health
director, and Shelley Wight,
communicable disease co
ordinator, o f the Morrow
County Health Department,
six people tested positive
over the weekend for In
fluenza A (not H1N1). O f
the six that tested positive
for Influenza A, none have
becom e ill enough to be
hospitalized.
If anyone who has
the flu does becom e ill
enough to be hospitalized,
they w ill then be tested
for H1N1 (sw ine flu) as
per state guidelines. The
Center for Disease Control
has found that 99% of pa
tients that test positive for
Influenza A and are later
h o sp ita liz e d because o f
complications test positive
for H 1N 1. Oregon numbers
o f confirmed H1N1 cases
are based on confirm ed
cased found through hospi
talized flu patients. Accord
ing to the Morrow County
H ealth D e p a rtm en t, no
one has been hospitalized
because o f complications
from Influenza A in Morrow
County.
If anyone does de
velop flu-like symptoms,
they are encouraged to stay
home and not expose other
people. T hose that find
themselves sick are further
encouraged to be free o f a
tem perature for 24 hours
before returning to work
or school
During this flu sea
son, residents are encour
aged to use Kleenex, wash
their hands often and use
hand sanitizer.
Gibbs, Day bag big bucks
Ji
Garrett Gibbs (left) and Cameron Day (right), both of Heppner, bagged these mule deer bucks during this year’s rifle
hunting season. -Contributed Photos
The Heppner Gazette-Times wants to see pictures o f your trophy animals from this hunting season.
Stop by to have your picture taken, drop o ff photos, or email them to editor@rapidserve. net.
County gets some flu vaccines
By David Sykes
conditions.
As of last Wednes
day, the M orrow County
H ealth D ep artm en t had
received 100 doses o f the
H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine,
a Public Health Emergency
Preparedness Coordinator
told the Heppner Chamber
o f Com m erce last Thurs
day.
K risti W h e e le r-
Johnson told the chamber
that the vaccine would be
administered first to the fol-
lowing people: Health care
providers and law enforce
ment personnel, pregnant
w om en, new p a re n ts o f
children under six months,
people six m onths to 24
years old and 25 to 64-year-
olds with certain medical
said people who fit
into these groups
should contact the
M o rro w C o u n ty
Health Department
about sch ed u lin g
their immunization.
She said M orrow
County had 7,000
p e o p le w h o fit
into the group out
o f a population of kristi
12,000. She said
about one h a lf o f
the 7.000 target group was
school age children. She
also said she was expecting
more doses soon but was
not sure when.
Johnson said there
were two types of doses-
Johnson
Wheeler-Johnson
nasal spray and injections-
and that they were recom
mending the two year to 49
year-old age group should
be able to receive the mist
vaccine.
She also said it has
been learned that one dose
department, at the back of
the hospital. The intention
o f the restricted access is to
keep people with influenza
apart from our acute inpa
tients as well as our long
term-care residents.
In flu e n z a A has
been evident in south Mor
row County since late Sep
tember. Since O ctober 1
Pioneer M em orial Clinic
has seen a trickle of patients
com e through that have
tested positive for the flu.
Monday morning, October
12, the clinic had a deluge
of calls and people coming
to the clinic with flu-like
symptoms.
Thus lies the is
sue. Through all the media
coverage people need to re
member this is the flu (short
for influenza), much like
the seasonal flu that goes
around every year. And we
treat is just it just like we
do every other year. Stay
home, rest and hydrate.
Yes there will be a
vaccine, hopefully it will
arrive in time to prevent
some folks from getting the
flu, but just like all the other
years with the flu shots we
urge everyone to get, some
folks may get the flu in spite
of receiving the vaccine.
W hat a b o u t the
anti-virals, like Tamiflu?
While we do have a limited
supply o f this medication
available, health officials
are stressing these should
be used only for patients
w ith c o -m o rb id itie s or
w hose im m une system s
are compromised. Tamiflu
does not cure influenza. It
may decrease the severity
o f sym ptom s and it may
decrease the length of time
a person is afflicted w ith in
fluenza by about 24 hours.
Also o f note, there
are other types of flu in our
midst, as well as the com
mon cold. These all need
to be treated in the same
manner. Stay home - this is
important so others will not
be exposed to what ever you
are coughing. Rest - allow
YS AT 5
your body time to recover
and mend. Drink plenty of
fluids.
The only portals of
entry are the nostrils and
mouth/throat. In a global
epidemic of this nature, it’s
almost impossible not com
ing into contact with H 1N 1
in spite o f all precautions.
Contact with H1N1 is not
so much o f a problem as
spread of germs is. While
you are still healthy and not
showing any symptoms in
order to prevent prolifera
tion, aggravation o f symp
toms and development o f
secondary infections, some
very simple steps can be
practiced: 1. Frequent hand
washing (well highlighted
in all official com m uni
cations). 2. “ H ands-off-
the-face” approach. Resist
all tem ptations to touch
any part of face. 3. Boost
your natural immunity with
foods that are rich in Vi
tamin C. 4. Drink plenty
o f liquids, some informa
tion encourages drinking
warm liquids in the theory
the warm liquids wash off
proliferating viruses from
the throat into the stomach
where they cannot survive.
If you, or som e
one in your household has
sym ptom s o f the flu (fe
ver, body aches, chills,
headache, other chronic
illnesses), you need to stay
home, rest and concentrate
on keeping hy drated. If the
person with the flu devel
ops complications such as
difficulty breathing, bluish
color to skin or lips, cough
ing up blood, com plains
o f pain or pressure in the
chest, appears confused,
or gets w orse after appear
ing to improve, please call
Pioneer M emorial Clinic
at 676-5504. or Pioneer
Memorial Hospital at 676-
9133 for instructions.
If you have questions or con
cerns, please call Pioneer
Memorial Clinic. There are
nurses available to talk to you
and help guide you through
this issue.
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o f the H 1N 1 vaccine is now
sufficient. It was earlier re
ported that two doses were
necessary.
The symptoms of
the H 1N 1 are coughing and
sneezing and runny nose,
body aches and sometimes
gastrointestinal symptoms.
Johnson said the H1N1 is
actually a mild disease but
because no one is immune,
more people are getting
the flu.
tor of Nursing, Home Health & Hospice, stated that regular
appointments at the Heppner Clinic had been cancelled. Pa
tients who have the flu are asked not to come to the hospital
unless they develop complications. The hospital doors are
locked and patients will have to enter through the emergency
room entrance. Photo by David Sykes
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