The Brookshire Blog

Important Update

Our local community, state, and nation continue to take unprecedented action to minimize the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the disease it causes, named “coronavirus disease 2019” (COVID-19). At this time, no one knows how severe this outbreak will be. Given this uncertainty, and the fact that the seasonal influenza (flu) virus is also widespread, we’ve been learning from the experts, and taking proactive steps to address concerns.

First and foremost, we want to maintain a safe environment and encourage practices that protect the health of the children, their families, our associates, and other community members.

This note will give a brief overview of steps we’ve taken and the help we need from you, the parents and families of the children. This is not an all-inclusive list of our actions. As this is a rapidly evolving situation, we will continue to work with leading experts to adopt best practices.

Dr. Jay Butler, associate director of infectious disease with the CDC, stated during a webinar this week those who seem to be at greatest risk are the elderly, those with heart/lung/kidney disease or diabetes, and older people who smoke. He lists four key areas to focus on to prevent the transmission of disease: 1) Proper hand washing, 2) Encouraging sick associates to stay home, 3) Coughing into a tissue or elbow if tissue is not available, and 4) Routine environmental cleaning.

As a high-quality licensed center, the action items he listed are all part of our standard procedures.

We’ve asked all associates to step up their efforts and, in fact, lead the way in reducing the transmission of communicable diseases in our childcare centers.

The fundamental actions are:

  • Stay home when you are sick.
  • Wash your hands frequently with warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds. Follow hand washing policy.
  • Do not touch your face, especially your eyes, nose, or mouth with your hands.
  • Cover your mouth with tissues whenever you sneeze or cough, and discard used tissues in the trash. If that is not possible, cough or sneeze into your elbow. Do not cough or sneeze into your hand.
  • Avoid people who are sick with respiratory symptoms.
  • Clean and sanitize frequently touched surfaces.
  • Follow all our sanitizing and cleaning procedures.

It is critical that associates do not report to work while they are experiencing respiratory symptoms and fever.  Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that associates remain at home until at least 24 hours after they are free of fever (100 degrees F or 37.8 degrees C) or signs of a fever without the use of fever-reducing medications.

Associates who report to work ill will be sent home in accordance with these health guidelines.

In addition to continuously reinforcing  the previous steps, we’ve taken other proactive steps.

  1. Hand washing training: Every associate will be retrained on hand washing.
  2. Additional sanitation: We’ve hired a company to sanitize and disinfect our entire facility including buses once per week. This is not a one step solution. Without strict adherence to the fundamentals listed on the first page of this note, this action will make little impact. We have ordered additional sanitizing gear. Once it arrives in early May, we will sanitize even more frequently. To learn more about the sanitizing technology go to https://evaclean.com/products/protexus-cordless-electrostatic-sprayers to see a video and learn more.
  3. More frequent cleaning and sanitation: We are cleaning and sanitizing some items (such as cots and toys) and areas more frequently.
  4. Field Trips: All field trips will be cancelled until further notice.
  5. PTO policy change: To ease the financial burden on our newest associates, and actively encourage them to stay home when sick, we’ve implemented a PTO grant on the first day of employment. We will also allow tenured associates who’ve used their PTO to run a negative balance.

PARENTS: We’re all in this together and we need your help.

We ask that you join us in heightened actions to protect our community.

Please do the following:

  1. Keep your child home when sick. Do not bring your child back to Brookshire Learning Center until free of fever for twenty-four hours.
  2. Arrange for someone else to drop-off or pickup your child if you are sick. If this is not possible, please call us when you arrive, and we can meet you at the door.
  3. Wash your hands upon entering a classroom. When possible, sanitize prior to entering the center.
  4. Cover your mouth with tissues whenever you sneeze or cough, and discard used tissues in the trash. If that is not possible, cough or sneeze into your elbow. Do not cough or sneeze into your hand.
  5. Do not touch your face, especially your eyes, nose, or mouth with your hands.

We’re all in this together and we need your help. When we all follow these guidelines, the chance of transmitting disease is reduced. As our response continues to evolve, we will share our plans with you. Thank you for choosing Brookshire Learning Center.