WMU focuses on prevention in preparation for H1N1 pandemic

Sebastian Fryer and Fritz Klug
Western Herald

Marissa Ingle/ Western Herald

With the threat of a flu pandemic foreseeable by the end of the year, Western Michigan University has begun a preventive preparation plan to reduce as many cases of H1N1 on campus as possible.
The Centers for Disease Control published new guidelines for colleges and universities on Aug. 20, 2009, which Lisa Marshall, M.D., medical director of Sindecuse Health Center, said WMU is following.

According to Marshall, rapid flu tests are only about 40 to 69 percent accurate.

“Clinicians who use the rapid flu test will ultimately rely on clinical history and exam findings for diagnosis and treatment of influenza since a negative test does not rule out swine flu,” she wrote in an e-mail.

One thing about the Sindecuse plan is that it is flexible.

“Sindecuse will continue to provide medical care and education to prevent spread of infection,” she wrote.

“We will need to track and monitor the number of patients coming in with flu-like illness and adjust our schedules and practices accordingly.”

Marshall said if there is a large volume of students requiring health care, then Sindecuse may need to defer routine care temporarily to focus on faculty, staff, and students with influenza symptoms.

Diane Anderson, vice president of student affairs, said preparation began last spring, when the CDC announced that a second and larger wave of H1N1 was anticipated for the fall and winter.

In preparation for an outbreak, the university’s Environmental Safety and Emergency Management department has four alert levels for pandemic flu implementation to assure that the appropriate courses of action are taken.

Currently, the ESEM website has WMU listed at Level 1, which includes distributing information on the disease, publicizing self-isolation and encouraging departments to review their pandemic plans.

On Aug. 31, the University sent out an e-mail to all students detailing what to do if they are experiencing flu like symptoms.

The second level, subtitled “gathering information,” details that officials assess the current percent of the university affected by the flu and monitor how many students are not coming to campus.

The third level is more reactionary. The university will consider canceling classes and closing the residence halls for up to four weeks. Many public gatherings will be canceled or postponed.

If the flu spreads further the fourth level will be enacted and the university will shut down besides critical services. Students and faulty will be given daily updates.

Tim Greene, provost and vice president of academic affairs, said that there is currently no plan to shut down the university.

“Since swine flu is a mild illness for most, campus closure is unlikely,” Marshall wrote.

In her 32 years working in higher education, Anderson said she has never seen anything like this before.

“It has put everyone on notice,” she said.

Doug Carney, assistant director of facilities and contract manager for custodial services, said that the cleaning crews have increased their use of spray disinfectants to twice a day for residence halls with community bathrooms and on commonly touched objects, such as doorknobs. Custodial service for the residence halls is commissioned to the C.M.S. Group.

While residence halls will continue to be cleaned six days a week, Carney said if there becomes a need, cleaning will be added on Sundays. For the rest of campus, steps to clean bathrooms and provide hand sanitizer gel have been increased.

Pete Strazdas, associate vice president of Facilities Management, said that the university has purchased thousands of dollars of dispensers and gel inserts, which are currently being distributed across campus.

“We are currently identifying the most populated student areas,” he said.

While new equipment is being purchased, Strazdas noted that there are hundreds of bathrooms and thousands of sinks across campus, where students can wash their hands.

Anderson said that the resident halls, dining halls, locker rooms, and athletic teams are the areas the university is spending most of their energy on.

Marshall recommends students with symptoms such as fever, muscle aches, fatigue, cough, sore throat, headache, and congestion to go home.

For students living in the Residence Halls and cannot go home, Residence Life is opening Eldridge/Fox in the Goldsworth Valley III dormitories to quarantine sick students, according to ResLife Director Steve Palmer.

Residence Halls are providing flu kits at the front desks for residents that include sanitizing gel, face masks, and thermometers.

ResLife and SHC are in constant communication, Palmer said, and are ready to implement whatever steps are called for.

Students that believe they may be showing symptoms of H1N1 are advised not to attend classes. A doctor’s note will not be necessary, but students should contact their professors via e-mail or telephone for more instructions.

The best advice Anderson has for students is to ask questions.

“We want to make sure the people’s questions are being answered,” she said. “They may be thinking of questions we haven’t thought of. We all want to help each other with this.”

For more information on H1N1, go to cdc.gov for national information and wmich.edu/shc for campus information, go to wmich.edu/flu

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Posted by HeraldAdmin on Sep 10 2009. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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