Saturday, April 29, 2000
Blood testing sought for boys
By Cindy Schroeder
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON — A mother who says her 10-year-old son was ordered to clean up another pupil's blood with paper towels and water wants Prince of Peace School or the Diocese of Covington to pay for blood tests for the two youths.
Julie Heenan said her son, Erik, was ordered by a teacher there to clean up another student's blood on April 14, after he accidentally hit the 13-year-old boy in the nose as they played basketball.
Erik is a fourth grade stu dent at Prince of Peace School in West Covington, which has 132 pupils in kindergarten through grade 8. The accident occurred during the school's after-school program.
She said her son, who already had small cuts on his hand, did not wear gloves to clean up the blood.
“I was very upset when my son told me about this,” said Ms. Heenan, who worried about her son's possible exposure to diseases, such as Hepatitis B or AIDs. “When I looked at his hands that day, I could see little cuts like kids get, and I could see the stain from the blood.”
Calls to the Prince of Peace School and the Diocesan Department of Education on Friday were referred to Jack LaVelle, a lawyer for the Diocese. He could not be reached for comment Friday.
Ms. Heenan, 32, said Sister Mary Sharron Goller, SND, the school's principal, “apologized profusely” when she called her about the incident two weeks ago. But since then, she has not received a response to her continued phone calls to the school.
“I asked her to make sure the other child had a blood test immediately,” Ms. Heenan said. “She said, "I'll talk to the mother, and get right back to you.' She didn't.”
Ms. Heenan said she also called the boy's mother, who initially agreed to have her son tested then later reconsidered.
Besides blood tests for the two boys, Ms. Heenan said she also wants assurances that all teachers working for the Diocese of Covington receive training on how to deal with blood and bodily fluids.
She said she has consulted a lawyer and is contemplating legal action if her requests aren't addressed.
“I want to know that when you send your child to school, that your child will be safe and won't be subjected to a potentially deadly disease,” Ms. Heenan said.
Stephen Koplyay, personnel director for the Department of Catholic Education in the Covington Diocese, said he did not know the facts of the case and so would not comment on it.
In general, though, all teachers in Northern Kentucky's Catholic schools have been trained how to respond when blood or bodily fluids are spilled. He added that new teachers receive training before the start of each school year.
Diocesan policy calls for gloves to be worn when blood is cleaned up, as well as the use of paper towels or other absorbent materials, and a disinfectant approved by the Environmental Protection Agency.
“Occasionally a student may be asked to clean up his own mess, but there should never ever be an instruction for one kid to clean up another's blood or bodily fluids,” Mr. Koplyay said.
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