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Businesses and health officials prepare for H1N1 influenza
By Jason Schoonover | Albert Lea Tribune
Published Monday, September 14, 2009
With presumed H1N1 flu cases starting in Freeborn County, Albert Lea Medical Center is following the lead of state health officials in planning for the effects of the pandemic.
?We?re trying to determine what the impact is going to be on our community and in our facility, and we?re already seeing a fair number of cases that we presume to be 2009 H1N1,? Patty Abbott, infection preventionist at ALMC.
H1N1 was being called Novel H1N1, but officials recently changed it to be called 2009 H1N1.
These presumed cases started in the last week, and Abbott said there have been about three to four presumed cases a day. The medical center does not test specifically for H1N1, but each of those cases was tested with a nose swab to determine the strain of flu. H1N1 is a form of the Influenza A strain, so Influenza A cases are presumed to be H1N1. Abbott said the medical center doesn?t typically see seasonal flu cases until December.
ALMC is recommending people with flu-like symptoms call the medical center or their regular health care provider before seeking treatment at the clinic. H1N1 appears similar to a mild flu strain and can be treated at home.
Planning ahead
According to health officials, pandemics have the potential to disrupt the economy and health care providers. A high number of employees can be absent due to illness, or employees may have to care for an ill child or loved one.
?If you have 30 percent of your workforce out, how are you going to continue your work day-to-day? We want people to think about setting priorities about what things they have to do. Is there something in your business that has to be done 24-7, and how would you be sure that that function stays open,? said Lois Ahern, director of Freeborn County Public Health.
The potential to affect 30 percent of a workforce comes from looking at the effects of moderate to severe illnesses in history, Ahern said.
The Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce has a document called ?Preparing for the Flu? available to businesses on their Web site. This document, which was written by groups such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, focuses on preventative steps businesses can take to minimize the financial impact of H1N1.
?I think the real key is: Be proactive, have it planned,? said Randy Kehr, executive director of the chamber of commerce.
?We budget out dollars and cents over the year, we certainly should be able to incorporate this into our planning,? he added.
People often choose to go to work and school even if they?re not feeling well. Ahern said it?s very important for people to stay home when sick.
?The biggest thing, though, is for people to just give themselves permission to stay home if they?re sick,? Ahern said.
A key change is that health officials are recommending a sick person stay home until he or she is fever free for 24 hours without medication. That could take as long as 10 days.
Alamco Wood Products Inc. is taking steps to prepare for a shortage of workers, said Lane Vanek, technical services director.
?We?re also identifying key personnel, key positions, and cross training employees so that if we do need to shift a few employees from one department to another, we can do that, worst case scenario,? Vanek said.
?We want to keep the business going as much as possible,? he added.
Some ?die hard employees? ? as Vanek called them ? will come into work even if they?re feeling under the weather, but he said it?s key for these employees to stay home when they?re sick.
However, Vanek said he?s stressing that sick employees or employees with flu symptoms stay home. Signs that will be placed around the building tell employees to stay home when possible to not spread the virus.
Other signs will be posted around Alamco to encourage hand washing, good hygiene and inform employees about influenza symptoms. Vanek said Alamco has ordered about a dozen hand sanitizers to put around the building.
ALMC
ALMC has been incorporating pandemics and epidemics into its plans for some time. Officials started preparing last spring by participating in conference calls with other Mayo Health System facilities to strategize about what was looking to be a new strain initially termed ?swine flu.? The medical center had emergency plans in place before H1N1 broke out.
ALMC officials are following the lead of the Minnesota Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as they prepare for the H1N1 pandemic flu.
?It?s something that is changing every day,? Abbott said. ?We have new information from the Department of Health, the CDC.?
ALMC officials are working closely with the Freeborn County Department of Health, she said.
ALMC officials are concerned about the potential to have a high number of patients seeking treatment for the flu and a high number of employee absences because of the flu.
The medical center is following the recommendations of state health officials and are recommending sick employees not come to work and not return until after they are fever free for 24 hours without medication.
?We are strongly encouraging employees not to come to work if they have a fever or an illness in the morning because we don?t want to put our patients at risk or the rest of the employees,? Abbott said.
If H1N1 became more severe, certain elective procedures would cease, so the staff could focus on necessities.
?There?s areas of the hospital that aren?t crucial that you could and would shut down to allow for more space for patients that need to be admitted and to free up more staff to care for them,? said Lori Routh, ALMC nursing executive.
While things like physicals and elective surgical procedures could be put off, the necessary areas would include things like the emergency room, ambulance services, emergency surgeries and delivering babies.
Any training would cease, and some nurses would be moved to positions that are in non-direct care to direct care.
The potential for such changes will be based on the severity of H1N1, the number of cases, and the number of absent hospital staff, said ALMC officials.
Since ALMC is part of Mayo Health System, Abbott said staff from one medical center could be transferred to another if there was a high need at one facility. This would be beneficial because she said H1N1 has often been prevalent in certain pockets.
Stations
ALMC is purchasing respiratory health stations to be placed around the medical center that will offer things like surgical masks, hand sanitizer and educational materials.
People who come to the medical center and have respiratory issues have the chance to wear masks to prevent the spread of germs.
Staff can also use the masks when dealing with patients who have respiratory issues, or they can wear the masks by choice, officials said.
?It?s a culture change for staff and the public. They aren?t used to coming here for any reason and seeing staff with a mask on or seeing other patients with a mask on or even being asked themselves ?Would you want to wear a mask?? That?s just for everybody else?s protection,?
People can ask for masks at any registration desk.
Routh said nurses and patients wearing masks isn?t a new concept. It?s something nurses are taught in school, and it?s reinforced in training every year.
?In certain circumstances, certain risk factors, you should wear a mask when providing care to that patient,? Routh said.
?We don?t expect them to wear them, nor should they wear them, for normal, routine patient care,? she added.
While the medical center will need to make changes to prepare for H1N1, Abbott said they?ll provide the care necessary during the pandemic.
?We?ll maybe have to prioritize. That?s the most important thing is to say we?re going to be here for the people that definitely need health care and as many others as we can provide,? Abbott said.
http://www.albertleatribune.com/news/2009/sep/14/businesses-and-health-officials-prepare-h1n1-influ/
By Jason Schoonover | Albert Lea Tribune
Published Monday, September 14, 2009
With presumed H1N1 flu cases starting in Freeborn County, Albert Lea Medical Center is following the lead of state health officials in planning for the effects of the pandemic.
?We?re trying to determine what the impact is going to be on our community and in our facility, and we?re already seeing a fair number of cases that we presume to be 2009 H1N1,? Patty Abbott, infection preventionist at ALMC.
H1N1 was being called Novel H1N1, but officials recently changed it to be called 2009 H1N1.
These presumed cases started in the last week, and Abbott said there have been about three to four presumed cases a day. The medical center does not test specifically for H1N1, but each of those cases was tested with a nose swab to determine the strain of flu. H1N1 is a form of the Influenza A strain, so Influenza A cases are presumed to be H1N1. Abbott said the medical center doesn?t typically see seasonal flu cases until December.
ALMC is recommending people with flu-like symptoms call the medical center or their regular health care provider before seeking treatment at the clinic. H1N1 appears similar to a mild flu strain and can be treated at home.
Planning ahead
According to health officials, pandemics have the potential to disrupt the economy and health care providers. A high number of employees can be absent due to illness, or employees may have to care for an ill child or loved one.
?If you have 30 percent of your workforce out, how are you going to continue your work day-to-day? We want people to think about setting priorities about what things they have to do. Is there something in your business that has to be done 24-7, and how would you be sure that that function stays open,? said Lois Ahern, director of Freeborn County Public Health.
The potential to affect 30 percent of a workforce comes from looking at the effects of moderate to severe illnesses in history, Ahern said.
The Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce has a document called ?Preparing for the Flu? available to businesses on their Web site. This document, which was written by groups such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, focuses on preventative steps businesses can take to minimize the financial impact of H1N1.
?I think the real key is: Be proactive, have it planned,? said Randy Kehr, executive director of the chamber of commerce.
?We budget out dollars and cents over the year, we certainly should be able to incorporate this into our planning,? he added.
People often choose to go to work and school even if they?re not feeling well. Ahern said it?s very important for people to stay home when sick.
?The biggest thing, though, is for people to just give themselves permission to stay home if they?re sick,? Ahern said.
A key change is that health officials are recommending a sick person stay home until he or she is fever free for 24 hours without medication. That could take as long as 10 days.
Alamco Wood Products Inc. is taking steps to prepare for a shortage of workers, said Lane Vanek, technical services director.
?We?re also identifying key personnel, key positions, and cross training employees so that if we do need to shift a few employees from one department to another, we can do that, worst case scenario,? Vanek said.
?We want to keep the business going as much as possible,? he added.
Some ?die hard employees? ? as Vanek called them ? will come into work even if they?re feeling under the weather, but he said it?s key for these employees to stay home when they?re sick.
However, Vanek said he?s stressing that sick employees or employees with flu symptoms stay home. Signs that will be placed around the building tell employees to stay home when possible to not spread the virus.
Other signs will be posted around Alamco to encourage hand washing, good hygiene and inform employees about influenza symptoms. Vanek said Alamco has ordered about a dozen hand sanitizers to put around the building.
ALMC
ALMC has been incorporating pandemics and epidemics into its plans for some time. Officials started preparing last spring by participating in conference calls with other Mayo Health System facilities to strategize about what was looking to be a new strain initially termed ?swine flu.? The medical center had emergency plans in place before H1N1 broke out.
ALMC officials are following the lead of the Minnesota Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as they prepare for the H1N1 pandemic flu.
?It?s something that is changing every day,? Abbott said. ?We have new information from the Department of Health, the CDC.?
ALMC officials are working closely with the Freeborn County Department of Health, she said.
ALMC officials are concerned about the potential to have a high number of patients seeking treatment for the flu and a high number of employee absences because of the flu.
The medical center is following the recommendations of state health officials and are recommending sick employees not come to work and not return until after they are fever free for 24 hours without medication.
?We are strongly encouraging employees not to come to work if they have a fever or an illness in the morning because we don?t want to put our patients at risk or the rest of the employees,? Abbott said.
If H1N1 became more severe, certain elective procedures would cease, so the staff could focus on necessities.
?There?s areas of the hospital that aren?t crucial that you could and would shut down to allow for more space for patients that need to be admitted and to free up more staff to care for them,? said Lori Routh, ALMC nursing executive.
While things like physicals and elective surgical procedures could be put off, the necessary areas would include things like the emergency room, ambulance services, emergency surgeries and delivering babies.
Any training would cease, and some nurses would be moved to positions that are in non-direct care to direct care.
The potential for such changes will be based on the severity of H1N1, the number of cases, and the number of absent hospital staff, said ALMC officials.
Since ALMC is part of Mayo Health System, Abbott said staff from one medical center could be transferred to another if there was a high need at one facility. This would be beneficial because she said H1N1 has often been prevalent in certain pockets.
Stations
ALMC is purchasing respiratory health stations to be placed around the medical center that will offer things like surgical masks, hand sanitizer and educational materials.
People who come to the medical center and have respiratory issues have the chance to wear masks to prevent the spread of germs.
Staff can also use the masks when dealing with patients who have respiratory issues, or they can wear the masks by choice, officials said.
?It?s a culture change for staff and the public. They aren?t used to coming here for any reason and seeing staff with a mask on or seeing other patients with a mask on or even being asked themselves ?Would you want to wear a mask?? That?s just for everybody else?s protection,?
People can ask for masks at any registration desk.
Routh said nurses and patients wearing masks isn?t a new concept. It?s something nurses are taught in school, and it?s reinforced in training every year.
?In certain circumstances, certain risk factors, you should wear a mask when providing care to that patient,? Routh said.
?We don?t expect them to wear them, nor should they wear them, for normal, routine patient care,? she added.
While the medical center will need to make changes to prepare for H1N1, Abbott said they?ll provide the care necessary during the pandemic.
?We?ll maybe have to prioritize. That?s the most important thing is to say we?re going to be here for the people that definitely need health care and as many others as we can provide,? Abbott said.
http://www.albertleatribune.com/news/2009/sep/14/businesses-and-health-officials-prepare-h1n1-influ/