H1N1 Flu Updates

October 26, 2009

Your work-space and H1N1 (and other viruses)

By now we’ve all heard about H1N1 flu, and containing the spread of the virus. Here are a few simple tips to protect yourself in the workplace:

  • Clean your hands with soap and water or with anti-bacterial hand sanitizer, prior to working at your desk/ computer.
  • Wipe down your desk with anti-bacterial wipes or some other cleaning product.
  • Use anti-bacterial wipes on your phone receiver, cradle, and (carefully!) on the phone’s number pad.
  • While your computer is turned off, use anti-bacterial wipe on your mouse and mouse pad, and keyboard.
  • Avoid using any spray cleaning product (other than compressed air) directly on your keyboard; STCC keyboards are not considered water-resistant.
  • Over-use of cleaning products may cause malfunctions and/or the letters to fade on your keyboard; use sparingly.
  • Your best protection… clean your hands first!

October 14, 2009

The Emergency Preparedness Team (the Team) will continue to work with the local and state health departments to keep information readily available as the flu season progresses. Faculty, staff and students have an obligation also to do their part by taking precautions to assist in decreasing the spread of this virus.

Responsibility

The Team asks that anyone on campus exhibiting any kind of flu-like symptoms should contact Jonathan Miller, STCC Director of Health Services. The symptoms as described by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) include:

  • fever, greater than 100 degrees F, ( person feels warm, has a flushed appearance or is sweating and shivering)
  • sore throat
  • cough
  • stuffy nose
  • chills
  • headache
  • body aches and/or fatigue
  • diarrhea
  • vomiting
Precautions

The CDC and Massachusetts Department of Health recommend:

  • Washing your hands with soap and water frequently, especially after sneezing and coughing. Hand sanitizers will be installed on our campuses;
  • Cough and sneeze into your sleeve or shoulder, not into your hands. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth as germs spread this way;
  • Pay attention to the symptoms of the fl;.
  • Stay home if you have flu-like illnesses for at least 24 hours after you no longer have a fever. This should be determined without the use of fever reducing medications;
  • Talk to your healthcare providers about whether you should be vaccinated for seasonal flu. Also, if you are at a higher risk for flu complications, you should consider getting the H1N1 vaccine.

People at risk of contracting the H1N1 flu include: pregnant women and people with chronic medical conditions, such as asthma, heart disease, or diabetes. For more information about priority groups for vaccination, visit:

www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/acip.htm 

Reporting

If you become ill with flu-like symptoms, follow these procedures:

For faculty or staff, contact your immediate supervisor and your personal physician. The immediate supervisor will notify both Jonathan Miller, STCC Director of Health Services at (413)755- 4385, and Michelle Capdeville, Director of Human Resources at (413)755-4454 or via e-mail. Human Resources will work with the department, supervisor and individual to make appropriate accommodations. Human Resources will make official notifications to immediate staff who may have come in contact with the individual.

For a student, contact Jonathan Miller, STCC Director of Health Services at:(413)755-4385 . Jonathan Miller will contact the Dean of Students, Ray Blair, who will be responsible for directly contacting faculty members, the appropriate Dean and classmates.

This reporting will allow the College to monitor the institution’s exposure to the virus. If you are ill, you should stay home until the 24 hours after the fever subsides without taking any medication to reduce the fever. (see Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Order related to the H1N1 at http://www.stcc.edu/faculty/H1N1ExclusionReqmts.pdf ).

On-Going Next Steps
  1. The College has implemented an H1N1 website at: http://www.stcc.edu/faculty/h1n1.asp 
  2.  The College will be placing sanitizers in heavily populated areas of the campus. It is strongly recommended that individuals carry their own pocket sanitizers with an alcohol content of 60% or higher.
  3.  Hand washing signs will be posted in every bathroom on campus.
  4. Information will be sent out to faculty and staff via the GroupWise e-mail system and to students via the College’s student e-mail system.
Next Actions

Stephen Keller, the STCC Vice President of Academic Affairs, will be speaking with the College Deans to determine and address faculty and classroom concerns.

Faculty members should immediately notify their dean if they see an unusual drop in class attendance.

Faculty members should consider how to handle issues in their own classes, particularly in relation to attendance policies. It is our hope that faculty will work with their students in the event of illness.

The College will monitor each case as reported.

It is the College’s goal to keep the campus operational with as little disruption as possible. Please do your part to maintain a healthy environment for all those in the College community.

October 13, 2009

Order Regarding Exclusion Requirements for Pandemic Influenza H1N1 Infection (PDF)

October 9, 2009

To: College Community

From: The STCC Emergency Preparedness Team ( Ray Blair, Michelle Capdeville, Eileen Cusick, Michael Foss, Jonathan Miller, and Dave Siano and Myra Smith)

Re: H1N1 Update

Health officials have notified the College that there is a suspected case of the H1N1 flu contracted by a current student. This is the first suspected case of H1N1 on campus. The student presented with symptoms on Thursday, October 1, has been seen by a physician and is not on campus at this time. As a precautionary measure the student has self-isolated and will not return to campus until cleared by the student’s physician. STCC Health Services has also required that the student be fever-free for at least 24 hours before returning to classes.

Groups that are at higher risk of complications from the flu if they get sick include: children younger than age 5; people age 65 or older; children and adolescents (younger than age 18) who are receiving long-term aspirin therapy and who might be at risk for experiencing Reye’s syndrome after flu virus infection; pregnant women; individuals with asthma, other chronic pulmonary, cardiovascular, hepatic, hematological, neurologic, neuromuscular, or metabolic disorders such as diabetes; and individuals with immunosuppression (whether caused by medications or by HIV). People at high risk for flu complications who become ill with flu-like illness should speak with their health care provider as soon as possible.

Please refer to the College’s September 30, 2009 advisory memo regarding H1/N1. http://www.stcc.edu/faculty/h1n1.asp  (Please note that additional H1N1 updates will be posted to this site as warranted). The College strongly encourages all College community members to read this information and take reasonable precautions to protect themselves from contracting the virus or spreading it should they become ill.

If you have a specific question about the H1N1virus or a health concern, please contact Jonathan Miller, STCC Director of Health Services at: 755-4385. For additional information on the H1N1 virus, visit the following websites:

The STCC Emergency Preparedness Team will continue to work diligently to keep you informed and safe. The mission of this team is to keep the campus healthy and operational in all emergency situations.

September 30, 2009

In an effort to keep the campus community informed about health & safety concerns, the College’s Emergency Preparedness Committee is forwarding to you this information related to the H1/N1 flu.

The College agrees to keep you up to date with the most current information as it is received related to this flu and other seasonal flu. At the present time, the College is heeding the advice of the City of Springfield Department of Health and Human Services, as well as Commissioner Freeland from the Department of Higher Education.

In order to help prevent the spread of “all” coughs, colds and flu:

  1. WASH YOUR HANDS FREQUENTLY
  2. UTILIZE HAND SANITIZERS (ALCOHOL-BASED) OFTEN
  3. WHEN COUGHING OR SNEEZING - COUGH INTO YOUR SLEEVE
  4. AVOID TOUCHING YOUR EYES, NOSE AND MOUTH
  5. AVOID SHARING EATING UTENSILS AND DRINKING GLASSES

If you are experiencing the following symptoms: fever and sore throat, runny nose, headache, dry couch, or muscle pain,

CONTACT YOUR PHYSICIAN AND FOLLOW ADVICE GIVEN
GET VACCINATED AS YOUR PHYSICIAN ADVISES

The College needs your help in protecting each other from the spread of the flu. If you get the flu, stay home from school and work until 24 hours after symptoms have resolved, or even longer if you are in a clinical setting and have direct patient contact. In order to keep down the spread of the flu, it is best to keep away from others. Faculty and staff should notify their appropriate supervisor and utilize appropriate leave time. Students should notify their professors of illness via e-mail.

For more information and up to date information regarding the flu, vaccines and medical recommendations, please refer to these websites:

The College will provide reminders in the bathrooms to wash hands and will also make available hand sanitizers in key areas on campus.

If you are on campus and in need of medical attention, please contact Health Services at extension 4230.