If you have a student at Central or Ames you will have received this information already, but in case you haven’t, we are forwarding this information from Dr. Lamberson:

District 96 received notification today that there was an identified case of MRSA at Ames School. As a matter of courtesy I am forwarding to you a copy of the letter sent by Colleen Lieggi to the Ames parents Friday afternoon, November 30, 2007. Please feel free to distribute it electronically to your parent community.

District 96 is taking every precaution and reacting appropriately to this situation. If you have any questions regarding this situation and our reaction to it, please feel free to contact me at the District office.

Jon Lamberson

Letter from Ms. Lieggi:

November 30, 2007

Dear Parents,

Last night an Ames School student was diagnosed with Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA). This child did not attend school today and will not return to school until the child receives clearance from the family doctor. This child is currently being treated for MRSA. We have no other known cases of MRSA in the school.

The classroom that this child attends class in was thoroughly cleaned and sanitized in a timely manner. All desks, tables, counter tops, light switches, doorknobs, keyboards and laptop computers were cleaned with a bleach solution and alcohol wipes. Additional custodians will be sent to Ames School after school today to thoroughly clean and sanitize each room in the building in the same manner. All handrails and door knobs in the building will be thoroughly sanitized as well. Thorough cleaning and sanitizing of desks, tables, lunch tables, chairs, laptops, light switches, doorknobs, keyboards and computers will occur daily.

It is important to note that measures are being taken to minimize the spread of MRSA and other infections/illnesses in the building including:

Teachers and students have been told they must thoroughly wash their hands with warm soapy water or clean their hands with the provided hand sanitizer which contains 60% alcohol base

All classrooms in the building and lunchroom have hand sanitizer available to the students for use throughout the day

Teachers are prompting students to use the hand sanitizer

Lunchroom supervisors are squirting hand sanitizer into each child’s hands before they enter the lunchroom for lunch

Teachers require the students to use hand sanitizer before they enter the classroom after lunch

Students with cuts or wounds have been instructed not touch their open wounds or others

Teachers have been asked to send students with cuts or wounds directly to the nurse’s office for proper cleaning and bandaging

Students have been told not to share personal hygiene items; paper towels, Kleenex etc.

The safety of our students and staff is our number one priority. We are being
extremely cautious in our dealing with this situation. Attached you will find:

-a MRSA Fact Sheet

-a “What To Do about MRSA” fact sheet
-a Special memo from the Illinois Board of Education that provides web sites that will have additional information (including the Illinois Dept. of Public Health site with a MRSA update)

Please take the time to read this information. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me at lieggic@district96.org .

Sincerely,

Colleen Lieggi
Ames School - Principal