Five new temperature scanners, which measure a student’s temperature, are being placed in each of Dallas ISD’s “watch” schools. Those are the campuses where students were identified as having been exposed to the sole U.S. Ebola patient.
And that reading happens in a matter of seconds.
“It doesn’t take very long, it’s not invasive. The kids would find it, I think, fun,” said Rumsey.
Jack Lowe Sr. Elementary School nurse Ann Rumsey was one of the first to use one of the devices and says it this will increase confidence among parents who may still have some concerns.
“The kids are very, very healthy here and no one is showing obvious signs of flu-like symptoms here, “ said Rumsey.
Dallas-based Wello, Inc. is donating the fever monitors to the district. The devices, which will be housed in the school nurse’s offices, represent a medical-equipment technology like no other on the market. Retired Centers for Disease Control infectious disease epidemiologist Dr. Murray Cohen now heads Wello’s medical advisory group.
“The children really weren’t at risk for Ebola, but understanding parents’ concern, we thought that we could build a machine for the school,” said Cohen.
Once a reading is taken, the system sends three measurements electronically to the school nurse, along with a picture of that student. The photo helps identify a student if the temperature reaches the fever threshold. Should that threshold be reached, an additional alert is captured and sent via email.
Yesenia Ramirez, principal at Lowe, says the new and safe way to take temperatures will also help any stigmas remaining within the community.
“I think once knowing that we are doing scans within our classrooms, the parents will feel much, much better,” said Ramirez.
