Flu pandemic readiness urged
Local businesses cautioned to prepare now for a worst-case scenario.
By Ryan Lengerich rlengerich@news-sentinel.com
Hazardous chemicals, workplace accidents and fires are just three on a long list of things that business must be prepared for ? and worry about.
But a flu pandemic?
?If half of our people don?t show up to work, it is going to hurt us,? said Mark Willcutts, safety director at Indiana Stamp Co. in Fort Wayne.
It is just that kind of scenario the Fort Wayne-Allen County Department of Health warns could occur if avian influenza, also known as ?bird flu,? spreads rampantly in the United States. Wednesday, health department officials spoke to about 90 people about the consequences that businesses would face in a flu pandemic.
?We don?t know when it will happen,? said Deborah McMahan, Allen County Health Commissioner. ?That is the problem.?
So McMahan said businesses both big and small must prepare now for a worst-case scenario. Absenteeism could spike to as high 50 percent as employees become infected, some care for family members and others fear leaving their home, according to the health department. Other threats involve key staff positions being affected, transportation delays, a drop in product demand and utility interruptions.
Businesses are encouraged to name a pandemic coordinator, identify essential employees, cross-train and notify critical partners of their plans.
Large companies have money and may already have teams forming to prepare for such a catastrophe, said Phil Laux, Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce president. Smaller companies with fewer resources could be most vulnerable.
?We have a tremendous amount of small to midsize companies,? Laux said. ?They potentially have to go through it and survive.?
Becky Rowan, senior sales executive at Parkview Occupational Health Centers, said employers have contacted her in recent weeks asking for information. Rowan used Wednesday?s seminar to gather information to share with them, some of whom she said don?t yet grasp the importance of the task ahead. ?This is all conceptual now. ? Why not be prepared and proactive??
The spread of avian influenza from one person to another has been reported only very rarely, and transmission beyond one person has not been documented, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
McMahan said it is the county?s responsibility to take the threat seriously. ?We hope we never implement these plans,? she said. At Indiana Stamp Co., Willcutts admits until recently he had not put much thought into the need to prepare for a flu pandemic. He intends to take the information he gleaned at the seminar back to his company and begin assembling a written plan.
?I?m not scared, but I?ll definitely get prepared,? Willcutts said.
Local businesses cautioned to prepare now for a worst-case scenario.
By Ryan Lengerich rlengerich@news-sentinel.com
Hazardous chemicals, workplace accidents and fires are just three on a long list of things that business must be prepared for ? and worry about.
But a flu pandemic?
?If half of our people don?t show up to work, it is going to hurt us,? said Mark Willcutts, safety director at Indiana Stamp Co. in Fort Wayne.
It is just that kind of scenario the Fort Wayne-Allen County Department of Health warns could occur if avian influenza, also known as ?bird flu,? spreads rampantly in the United States. Wednesday, health department officials spoke to about 90 people about the consequences that businesses would face in a flu pandemic.
?We don?t know when it will happen,? said Deborah McMahan, Allen County Health Commissioner. ?That is the problem.?
So McMahan said businesses both big and small must prepare now for a worst-case scenario. Absenteeism could spike to as high 50 percent as employees become infected, some care for family members and others fear leaving their home, according to the health department. Other threats involve key staff positions being affected, transportation delays, a drop in product demand and utility interruptions.
Businesses are encouraged to name a pandemic coordinator, identify essential employees, cross-train and notify critical partners of their plans.
Large companies have money and may already have teams forming to prepare for such a catastrophe, said Phil Laux, Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce president. Smaller companies with fewer resources could be most vulnerable.
?We have a tremendous amount of small to midsize companies,? Laux said. ?They potentially have to go through it and survive.?
Becky Rowan, senior sales executive at Parkview Occupational Health Centers, said employers have contacted her in recent weeks asking for information. Rowan used Wednesday?s seminar to gather information to share with them, some of whom she said don?t yet grasp the importance of the task ahead. ?This is all conceptual now. ? Why not be prepared and proactive??
The spread of avian influenza from one person to another has been reported only very rarely, and transmission beyond one person has not been documented, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
McMahan said it is the county?s responsibility to take the threat seriously. ?We hope we never implement these plans,? she said. At Indiana Stamp Co., Willcutts admits until recently he had not put much thought into the need to prepare for a flu pandemic. He intends to take the information he gleaned at the seminar back to his company and begin assembling a written plan.
?I?m not scared, but I?ll definitely get prepared,? Willcutts said.