WE LIP Success Story | October 2021

WECHU COVID-19 in Schools – Refresher Education Session

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU), in partnership with the Windsor Essex Local Immigration Partnership (WE LIP) organized an educational opportunity for local service providers to learn about the latest changes to the COVID-19 school reopening guidelines. The refresher session aimed to provide participants with valuable information to help them support their clients as they prepared to resume learning in school. The session was held virtually on September 9th and had over 69 registered participants with 58 attending the live session. During registration, participants had the opportunity to submit questions that were incorporated into the presentation or addressed during the Q&A.

The presentation was delivered by Mariel Munoz, RD and Rebecca Santilli, PHN from the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, and covered the following:

  • A brief review of COVID-19 and infection prevention controls in schools, highlighting changes from the previous school year;
  • An in-depth look at the newest guidelines/requirements for attending school in-person during COVID-19. This included information on personal protective equipment, symptom screening, and what a family must do if their child is dismissed from school due to COVID-19;
  • A step-by-step review of the actions taken by the public health unit when investigating a potential case of COVID-19 in a school. This includes a review of the changes made to the communication resources shared with families, and expectations for students who are dismissed as part of a cohort dismissal;
  • Tips on how service providers can support clients to adhere to the expectations for dismissals and return to school.

Participants were encouraged to provide feedback through a survey that was sent following the session. The survey results showed that 84% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that the presentation increased their ability to support client’s COVID-19 concerns or questions regarding school safety requirements and guidance. The feedback provided will help to plan future educational opportunities.

The recording of the session is available on the WE LIP Knowledge Sharing & Training webpage. As well, the finalized versions of the COVID-19 symptoms flowchart are available for download here; Schools & Childcare Centres | The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (wechu.org)  and ongoing information and support will continue to be provided through the WECHU website.

 

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