Six Key Drivers for a Successful Indoor Air Quality Program

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Six Key Drivers for a Successful Indoor Air
Quality Program

• Blue Valley School District
• Katy Independent School District
• Hartford Public Schools

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Blue Valley School District

• Dave Hill
• Executive Director of Facilities and Operations

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Blue Valley School District

District Location Overland Park, KS District
Type Suburban district outside of Kansas City,
KS Student Population 20,000 Number of
Facilities 35 Facility Age Range 0-87
Years Total Facility Square Footage
3,500,000 IAQ TFS Excellence Award 2003 IAQ
TFS Model of Sustained Excellence Award 2005
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Key Drivers for Successful School IAQ Management

• Organize
• Assess
• Create a Plan
• Take Action
• Evaluate
• Communicate

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IAQ Organization

• Designate an IAQ Coordinator
• Assemble an IAQ Team
• Develop Support
• Communication

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IAQ Organization

• Designate an IAQ Coordinator
• The face of your IAQ program
• People person, empathetic listener
• Excellent communicator

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IAQ Organization

• Assemble an IAQ Team
• Multi-disciplined include the champions who can
  build buy-in, add credibility
• Regular meetings
• Problem-solving environment
• Communication

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IAQ Organization

• Develop Support
• Seek support at the highest levels to ensure
  program success
• Create champions at all levels
• Create buy-in by institutionalizing your IAQ
  program
• Demonstrate the link between student achievement
  and excellent IAQ
• Communication

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IAQ Organization

• Communication
• Let people know what youre starting
• Connect the importance of excellent IAQ to
  student achievement
• Organize to be self-sustaining can survive the
  champion(s)

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IAQ Assessment

• Develop an IAQ Profile for your building(s)
• Collect Data
• Building Walkthrough
• Communication

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IAQ Assessment

• Develop an IAQ Profile for your building(s)
• Know what you have inventory
• Try to use objective, measurable data, but dont
  ignore subjective data

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IAQ Assessment

• Collect Data
• Try to use objective, measurable data, but dont
  ignore subjective data
• Use technology
• Interview occupants
• Look for trends with occupants and/or building
  operations

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IAQ Assessment

• Building Walkthrough
• Know what to look for, be informed
• Use EPAs Tools for Schools checklists or develop
  your own
• Schedule it
• Invite others
• Teach others empower reporting

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IAQ Assessment

• Communication
• Let people know why youre there
• Be open and honest
• Same team, there to help
• Listen
• Follow up let people know what you found, and
  what youre going to do about it

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Katy Independent School District

• Oscar Gonzalez
• Environmental Coordinator

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Katy Independent School District

District Location Katy, TX District Type
Rapidly growing suburban district outside of
Houston, TX Student Population 47,816 Number
of Facilities 57 Facility Age Range 0
40 Total Facility Square Footage 8,974,521 IAQ
TFS Excellence Award 2005
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Key Drivers for Successful School IAQ Management

• Organize
• Assess
• Create a Plan
• Take Action
• Evaluate
• Communicate

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Create a Plan

• Administrative Support
• Strategic Goals Objectives
• IAQ Policy
• Key Team Members
• Communication
• Continuous Improvement Growth

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Support for IAQ Program

• Senior Administrative Support
• Department Support
• Management
• Staff
• Schools
• Principals, Teachers, Staff
• Community

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Goals Objectives

• Implement Tools for Schools Program
• Improve and maintain IAQ
• Improve student, teachers, and staff comfort
  levels
• Reduce IAQ Complaints
• Implement IPM
• IAQ Policy

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Key Team Members

• Select Key Team Members
• Roles Responsibilities
• Director
• Environmental Coordinator
• IPM Coordinator
• Certified Applicators
• General Environmental Staff

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Communication

• Senior Administration
• Management Meetings
• Department Newsletter
• Schools
• Principals, Teachers, Nurses, Staff
• Community
• Participate in community projects
• Newspaper articles

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Continuous Improvement

• Implement IAQ in future construction of schools
  and facilities
• Lessons learned
• Training
• Continuing Education
• Seminars
• Hire additional staff

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Take Action!

• Conduct IAQ Walkthroughs of schools and
  facilities
• Respond quickly to IAQ Complaints
• Remove harmful chemicals
• IAQ Training and Presentations

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IAQ Walkthroughs

• Conduct regular IAQ Walkthroughs
• During IAQ Walkthroughs
• Identify and repair problems
• Investigate odors
• Water intrusion
• Remove toxic chemicals
• Observe occupant behavior
• Communicate with staff

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Responding to an IAQ Complaint

• Respond Immediately!!!
• Investigate Strange Odors
• Identify source
• Occupant complaints
• Recurring problem?
• Generate Work Orders
• Follow-up/Meetings
• Accurate Record Keeping
• Share Lessons-learned

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Lessons Learned

• What are we doing right?
• How can we improve?
• Evaluate IAQ Policies
• Training
• Communication

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Case Study

• Parent is concerned that her sons bad cough is
  due to his classes in portable building
• Symptoms
• Constant cough and congestion
• Parent contacts the school nurse
• Is the school making my son sick?

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Preliminary Steps

• First Point of Contact Nurse
• Nurse contacts Environmental Department
• IAQ Complaint (Confidential)
• Information about student
• History of respiratory illness?
• Class schedule
• Days absent
• Visit to nurse clinic
• Other complaints?

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Investigation

• Conduct an IAQ Walkthrough
• Inspect classrooms for the following
• Strange odors, water intrusion, mold growth
• Chemicals
• Temperature and humidity
• Dust
• HVAC
• Meet with Principals, Teachers, and Staff

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Results

• IAQ Walkthrough All Good!!!
• No other IAQ complaints found
• Report generated and sent to
• Environmental Director, Principal, and Nurse
• Meeting with Parents, Nurse, and Principal to
  discuss results

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Hartford Public Schools

• Pamela Clark, RN, MPH
• Clinical Nursing and Support Supervisor
• Hartford Public Schools, Hartford, CT
• Paula Schenck, MPH
• Center for Indoor Environments Health
  Division of Occupational and Environmental
  Medicine
• University of Connecticut Health Center

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Hartford Public Schools

District Location Hartford, CT District Type
Urban district in Connecticut Student
Population 24,000 Number of Facilities
45 Facility Age Range 0 120 Years Total
Facility Square Footage 5,003,644 IAQ TFS
Excellence Award 2005
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Key Drivers for Successful School IAQ Management

• Organize
• Assess
• Create a Plan
• Take Action
• Evaluate
• Communicate

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2004-2005 Hartford Public Schools Strategic
Profile

• 22,172 students attend 48 schools (includes 9
  non-public)
• 94 minority, 52 Hispanic and 41 black
• Over 68 qualify for free/reduced- price meals
• 47 of students home language other than English
  
• Hartford per capita income 13, 428

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Problem

• Children in Hartford are at significant risk for
  asthma. The city of over 120,000 has the second
  highest rate (41.3) of child poverty among the
  nations cities (2000 Census). The citys health
  department reports 17 prevalence of asthma, over
  twice the statewide average.

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Challenge

• More than 45 school buildings ranging from over
  122 years to 4 years old
• Asthma is the leading cause for school
  absenteeism for the district. 11,000 unexpected
  asthma- related visits to the school nurse were
  reported for school year 2003-2004.
• Teachers, nurses, administrators, and custodial
  staff have limited time to focus on environmental
  improvements
• Educational programs necessarily compete for
  limited resources that are needed to fix building
  problems.

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Dwight Elementary School - Hartford, CT(oldest
school in the city, built 1880)
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Response

• Hartford Public Schools and UCONN Center for
  Indoor Environments and Health organized a
  program for training Health and Safety School
  teams throughout the school district on indoor
  air quality and EPA's Indoor Air Quality Tools
  for Schools program that emphasized leadership
  development.
• The goal is a sustainable district-wide effort to
  foster improvements in the indoor environment and
  reduce children's exposure to asthma risk factors
  in the school buildings.

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Individual Schools to District Wide

• Train-the-trainer program instituted to form
  leadership cohorts on indoor environmental
  quality and EPA 's Tools for Schools (TfS)
  Program
• Related organized trainings for nurses, other
  staff, and custodians

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Hartford Public Schools Tools for Schools
collaborators

• University of CT Health Centers
• Center for Indoor Environments and Health
• CT Schools Indoor Environment Resource Team
  (CSIERT)
• Hartford Health and Human Services Department
  (HHD)/ Asthma-Call-To-Action (ACTA)
• American Lung Association/ CT Chapter
• CT Childrens Medical Centers Asthma Center
• CT Department of Public Healths Asthma and
  Indoor Environment Programs
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 1

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Communication Needs and Strategies

• Two phases
• Establishing a response to asthma and an indoor
  air quality TfS program
• Sustaining the program and integrating with
  broader (but related) program that established
  Health and Safety Teams in every school
• Messages
• Language must reflect value in an educational
  setting---- Relationship with academic
  performance paramount!
• Delivered in many settings internal and external
  (includes agency meetings-CSIERT, HHD,
  community-ACTA and public forums- American Public
  Health Association, National Environmental Health
  Association).

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Three thrusts directed at nurses, principals and
teaching staff, and facility personnel

• Clinical Nursing and Support Supervisor is the
  key coordinator/ communicator
• Dialog maintained directly with individual
  principals
• School nurses become empowered and become the
  focus for communications within individual
  schools
• Actively coordinates with Director of Facilities
• Director of Facilities
• Senior administration official/decision maker
• Tools for Schools becomes integrated into overall
  training for his staff and school custodians
• Reinforced with theme on hats, shirts
• Supports Clinical Nursing and Support Supervisor
  efforts
• UCHC partner
• Facilitate meetings and communication
• Brings outside academic connection validates
  priority
• Provides technical support

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Outreach and Communication Thrusts

• Nurses
• professional day training devoted to asthma and
  environment, indoor environmental quality, and
  nurses role in Tools for Schools.
• Companion training program with Connecticut
  Children's Medical Centers Asthma Center on
  asthma management for school nurses and HPS
  school-based nurse practitioners
• HPS Nurses Recognition Day educational
  presentation on asthma, immunology and EPA Tools
  for Schools
• Leadership cohort of nurses provides peer support
  to others

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Outreach and Communication Thrusts

• Principals
• As part of the before the school year training
  UCHC invited to introduce program to Principals
• Meeting with School Superintendent for UCHC and
  Health Services to introduce District-wide
  program
• Consistent involvement of senior
  administration-Director of Facilities supported
  less formal communication

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Outreach and Communication Thrusts

• Facilities
• Planning for new buildings expanded with indoor
  air quality management criteria and involvement
  of parent and staff Tools for Schools advisory
  group
• Enhanced training for custodians
• Uses work order and TfS priority listings to
  track needs and progress and provide feedback

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Teaching Tools Developed by Hartford Public
Schools
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School Health and Safety Teams

• Primary objectives
• School safety
• Indoor air quality
• OSHA standards and requirements
• Includes Teams for Tools for School and AED
  (automatic external defibrillator)

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Key Staff Persons in Health and Safety Teams

• Principal and / or an administrative designee
• Head custodian
• School nurse
• Security for the AED Team
• School staff (teachers, food service, family
  resource aide ( often a parent), physical
  education instructors)

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Evaluation

• Continuous
• Monthly reports on asthma visits to the health
  room
• Annual nurses survey
• Results
• Training
• Program
• Health
• Feedback/sustainability
• Yearly kick-offs planned
• TfS priorities revised with each cycle

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Measures of Success

• TfS Trainings are provided by the HPS trainers
• Documentation of training and sign in sheets
  obtained.
• Formal training evaluation program
• TfS programs are implemented in targeted schools.
  
• Lists of building conditions contributing to poor
  indoor air quality in target schools are noted
  and a final report submitted to Buildings and
  Grounds and Health Services Departments.
• Recommendations for remediation of building
  conditions developed and specific dialog
  initiated with the Buildings and Grounds
  Department.
• TfS indoor air quality activities are integrated
  with other in School Safety Team activities.
• Documentation of asthma and respiratory illness
  by school nurses.

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Hartford Public Schools Tools for Schools Program

• District-wide TfS program initiated in 2002
• As of October 13, 2006
• 30 (out of 40) schools have teams who have
  completed two-part Tools for Schools training
• 28 school teams have initiated the program in
  their schools
• 24 teams have completed surveys and walk though
  assessments, and
• 22 have identified and reported priorities, and
  repairs have been implemented
• New buildings
• Buildings and Grounds Department considered
  TfS recommendations in planning and implementing
  major additions and renovations to 4 elementary
  schools and in building 5 new schools.

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HPS Nursing Services Data
Unexpected Asthma Nursing Visits
Nurses training over the period included Tools
for Schools, asthma and environment, and asthma
management
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Contacts
Blue Valley School District Katy Independent
School District Dave Hill Oscar
Gonzalez Executive Director of Facilities and
Operations Environmental Coordinator 913-239-414
3 281-396-2519 dhill_at_bluevalleyk12.org
OscarMGonzalez_at_KATYISD.ORG Hartford Public
Schools Pamela Clark, RN, MPH Clinical Nursing
and Support Supervisor 860-695-8760 pclark_at_hartfor
dschools.org Paula Schenck, MPH Assistant
Director, Center for Indoor Environments Health
University of Connecticut Health Center
860-679-2368 schenck_at_nso2.uchc.edu