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TCC EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS :
H1N1 FLU PREVENTION |
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“An ounce of PREVENTION is worth a pound of cure.”
Benjamin Franklin
ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE:
- Practice good hand hygiene
CDC - Podcasts
- Wash your hands with soap and water or alcohol based hand gels.
- Lather up with soap for about 20 seconds – the time it takes to sing Happy Birthday (twice).
- Rinse your hands then drying your hands with air dryer or a disposable towel.
- Practice respiratory etiquette. CDC - Podcasts
- If you are sick, stay home! The August 20, 2009 guidance from the CDC encourages individuals with flu like symptoms to stay home until 24 hours after resolution of a fever. This means no fever (temperature of less than 100 F, 38 C) without using fever-reducing medicine such as ibuprofen - Motrin, or acetaminophen – Tylenol.
- Talk to your health care provider about whether you should be vaccinated for seasonal flu.
ACTIONS TCC IS TAKING:
The planning and measures we are implementing are precautionary – they should not be taken as reason for alarm. These are steps typical of what is expected for colleges or universities at this time.
- As we have since the beginning of the outbreak, we are continuing to use the information resources of VDH and CDC, as well as those of the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) and each of the localities we serve.
- We have conducted an extensive review of the college's Continuity of Operations (COOP) Plan and convened our COOP Team to conduct precautionary planning.
- We have also implemented a number of precautionary measures designed to help faculty, staff and students reduce the likelihood of becoming sick:
1. Hand-sanitizing stations have been distributed across the college in public locations. These stations dispense an alcohol-based gel cleanser without the need to touch the station.
2. Canisters of sanitizing wipes have been provided to offices across the college — these should be used to clean surfaces that might be contaminated by someone's sneezing or coughing on them or touching them after coughing or sneezing.
3. Custodial Services staff is cleansing surfaces that are frequently touched by numerous individuals, such as wall light switches and door knobs, on a nightly basis.
4. Campus staff have implemented a regimen of frequent cleaning of publicly available computing stations — their keyboards, mice, and monitors.
- We are continuing to monitor employee absentee rates on a daily basis to help identify any impact the H1N1 flu outbreak may be having on the college’s operations.
- TCC anticipates providing seasonal flu shots, as we have in previous years.
Should you have additional suggestions for consideration, please pass them on to the Emergency Preparedness Office.
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