Saint Alphonsus Leaders Urge Vigilance When Returning to In-person Classroom Instruction

Flu Vaccines Also Emphasized Leading into the Fall

While most schools in Southwestern Idaho and Eastern Oregon have opened the school year with online instruction, school districts across the region are evaluating when they can resume in-person instruction.

Saint Alphonsus Health System President and CEO Odette Bolano and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Steven Nemerson today urged parents and school administrators to maintain the “Three W’s” of pandemic prevention: Wear a mask, Wash your hands, and Watch your distance.

“Parents need to ask schools, ‘What are you doing to protect my kids?’ and ‘What can I do to protect other kids?’” Nemerson said during a joint Treasure Valley healthcare providers virtual news conference. “It’s incumbent upon all of us, as parents, to ensure that we are not sending a sick child into school, and if they are not sick but harboring the virus, that the virus is secluded within that child and doesn’t get spread to others.”

Dr. Nemerson said school administrators, teachers and students have a responsibility to hold each other accountable for following physical distancing, masking and hygiene guidelines.

Bolano said as the flu season approaches, it’s imperative that students, staff and parents get vaccinated this fall. “Early on in the pandemic, immunization rates dropped significantly because children were not making it into way into their wellness visits. As we begin to go into flu season, we’re going to have to be vigilant about making sure people do get the flu vaccine, and as kids to go back to school, they’re immunized.”

Nemerson agreed: “We do not want during flu season, to have patients get the flu and COVID. That could be deadly. The importance of influenza immunization, come this fall, cannot be overemphasized, and patients – young and old – should get influenza vaccinations.”

Bolano said while the number of COVID-19 patients within the Saint Alphonsus system is trending down, the number in ICU units is significantly higher. “Right now, we have 19 in our ICU, which is a significant number, that starts pushing against the other critical care patients that we need to take care of that are not COVID.” She added that two-thirds of the ICU patients are 50 years of age and younger.

Nemerson and Bolano joined leaders from St. Luke’s Health System, West Valley Medical Center, Primary Health, Saltzer Health and Valor Health on the virtual press conference.