TheFluMaster
Resident
12-hour shifts part of pandemic plan
Elias C. Arnold
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 26, 2006 12:00 AM
In a pandemic flu outbreak, Gilbert police and firefighters could find themselves working 12-hour shifts to make up for staffing shortages as other town employees work from home and communicate with co-workers exclusively via e-mail and telephones to prevent infection.
The measures are part of a pandemic flu response plan outlining how town departments will deliver services such as street maintenance, water and emergency response in the face of up to 40 percent of employees out sick or caring for family members.
The plan, an addendum to the town Emergency Operations Plan, is scheduled to go before the Town Council on Tuesday.
"It's just one of those situations where you have a short sheet, and you've got to figure out how to cover up your feet or cover up your head," Gilbert Fire Chief Collin DeWitt said of coping with a shortage.
DeWitt said his department is working out how to best offer service in a pandemic situation, although 12-hour shifts could be used to stretch manpower in a shortage along with strategic station closures.
Advanced planning also is needed because disappearing services, such as water treatment and trash collection, could exacerbate a public health crisis, said Lonnie Frost, town public works director.
"If you're not producing (clean) water when people open the faucet, that becomes a health and safety issue," Frost said.
The plan, based on World Health Organization pandemic alert guidelines, was developed over the past six months by a task force of town department heads and outlines how departments will cope with personnel loss and reduce the risk of infection for healthy employees.
Of particular concern is the H5N1 avian flu virus, a virulent form of influenza that has crossed species into humans. Human cases have been largely isolated to people in close contact with infected birds.
Gilbert plans to provide all town employees with flu vaccinations and reinforce basic hand washing, sneezing and coughing etiquette, and to provide hand sanitizer as a baseline for reducing the risk of infection.
At higher risk levels, municipal facilities and public service windows would close and human-to-human contact in offices would be minimized.
"Ultimately, if a pandemic were to occur, the ultimate remedy is vaccine," said Sheri Gibbons, Gilbert Fire Department emergency manager who coordinated the pandemic task force. "That takes time. You have to look at what you can do to minimize the spread of disease."
A "tabletop" exercise, in which town employees manage hypothetical pandemic situations using the plan as a guide, is scheduled in early October to test the plan and highlight areas that may need improvement, Gibbons said.
http://www.azcentral.com/community/gilbert/articles/0826gr-emergency0826Z12.html
Elias C. Arnold
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 26, 2006 12:00 AM
In a pandemic flu outbreak, Gilbert police and firefighters could find themselves working 12-hour shifts to make up for staffing shortages as other town employees work from home and communicate with co-workers exclusively via e-mail and telephones to prevent infection.
The measures are part of a pandemic flu response plan outlining how town departments will deliver services such as street maintenance, water and emergency response in the face of up to 40 percent of employees out sick or caring for family members.
The plan, an addendum to the town Emergency Operations Plan, is scheduled to go before the Town Council on Tuesday.
"It's just one of those situations where you have a short sheet, and you've got to figure out how to cover up your feet or cover up your head," Gilbert Fire Chief Collin DeWitt said of coping with a shortage.
DeWitt said his department is working out how to best offer service in a pandemic situation, although 12-hour shifts could be used to stretch manpower in a shortage along with strategic station closures.
Advanced planning also is needed because disappearing services, such as water treatment and trash collection, could exacerbate a public health crisis, said Lonnie Frost, town public works director.
"If you're not producing (clean) water when people open the faucet, that becomes a health and safety issue," Frost said.
The plan, based on World Health Organization pandemic alert guidelines, was developed over the past six months by a task force of town department heads and outlines how departments will cope with personnel loss and reduce the risk of infection for healthy employees.
Of particular concern is the H5N1 avian flu virus, a virulent form of influenza that has crossed species into humans. Human cases have been largely isolated to people in close contact with infected birds.
Gilbert plans to provide all town employees with flu vaccinations and reinforce basic hand washing, sneezing and coughing etiquette, and to provide hand sanitizer as a baseline for reducing the risk of infection.
At higher risk levels, municipal facilities and public service windows would close and human-to-human contact in offices would be minimized.
"Ultimately, if a pandemic were to occur, the ultimate remedy is vaccine," said Sheri Gibbons, Gilbert Fire Department emergency manager who coordinated the pandemic task force. "That takes time. You have to look at what you can do to minimize the spread of disease."
A "tabletop" exercise, in which town employees manage hypothetical pandemic situations using the plan as a guide, is scheduled in early October to test the plan and highlight areas that may need improvement, Gibbons said.
http://www.azcentral.com/community/gilbert/articles/0826gr-emergency0826Z12.html