Dayton Children's develops protocol for front-line COVID-19 screening in schools

Dayton Children’s Hospital recently developed a COVID-19 screening protocol for students and staff going back to school in person. These recommendations were developed by the Dayton Children’s “back to school” task force, which has been working with the Ohio Department of Health, county health departments, Ohio Children's Hospital Association, and area school districts to deliver evidence-based information and materials as the new school year begins.

The following resources were provided to hundreds of pediatricians, school districts and child care centers in the hospital’s 20-county service area:

• School screening protocol (pictured and linked below): Dayton Children’s created an algorithm that can guide COVID-19 screening and determine how best to help a child that is exhibiting symptoms. Link to screening protocol
• School screening protocol guide: Many COVID-19 screeners may not have a nursing background. Dayton Children’s developed an instructional guide to explain the algorithm and how to apply it to each unique situation. Link to screening protocol guide
• COVID-19 school screening protocol and scenarios slide deck: As hundreds of students and teachers return to school, Dayton Children's identified 12 potential scenarios to use as reference with answers on who should seek a health care evaluation, who should be isolated or quarantined, and when the individual can return to school. There may be nuances that change the decision from the answers given. Link to screening protocol and scenarios slide deck

  The information in these materials was taken from published materials from the Centers for Disease Control, with review by the Ohio Department of Health, Public Health, Dayton & Montgomery County and key community stakeholders.