By: Judy Rattner
Case linked to cluster at St. Francis prep; RVC schools will take guidance from Nassau County Department of Health
The Nassau County Department of Health said Wednesday that there are two new probable cases of swine flu in Nassau County - and one of them is a Rockville Centre resident who attends St. Francis Preparatory School in Queens. Another probable case is an Oceanside resident who is a part-time employee at St. Francis and also at the Barry and Florence Friedberg JCC.
Both patients have mild illness and are at home, said Mary Ellen Laurain, a spokeswoman for the Nassau County Department of Health.
Parents of children in the Rockville Centre public schools received a recorded message on Wednesday evening informing them of of the probable case.
"There is a school-age student who lives in Rockville Centre but does not attend Rockville Centre public schools and that student, we've been told, has a probable case," said Eileen Kamhi, assistant superintendent for special education and student support services, on Thursday morning. "I can tell you that as of now, there is no student in the Rockville Centre public schools who has tested positive for the virus. If we are told by the Nassau County Department of Health that a student who attends one of the Rockville Centre public schools tests positive for the H1N1 strain of flu, we will follow guidelines given to us by the Nassau County Dept. of Health. I spoke this morning with Dr. Dan Kulles from the Nassau County Department of Health who said, 'there is no threat to the health and safety of the student population in Rockville Centre.' "
Mercy Medical Center spokesman Mel Granick, who said the hospital has seen an increased level of concern among patients coming to its Emergency Department, issued the following statement on Thursday, "Catholic Health Services of Long Island has a system-wide Emergency Preparedness Plan, which addresses pandemic flu. This includes a comprehensive system for infectious disease reporting, integrated with the entities and Nassau and Suffolk counties and New York state.
"Mercy Medical Center, along with each of the four other CHSLI hospitals, has an individual Emergency Preparedness Plan that includes any possible influx of infectious patients. Within that plan are specific sections dealing with pandemic flu, addressing issues such as patients, staffing, employee health, security, isolation, education and supplies.
"The hospitals have reviewed their state of readiness including protective clothing, respirators, fluids, other medications, linen, fuel, food and water. CHS is helping to coordinate individual efforts to ensure best use of these resources.
"In addition, Mercy and the other CHSLI facilities have been participating in the daily conference calls with the various agencies monitoring the condition and this information is shared electronically throughout the system."
