Date: September 2, 2009
To: The UMBC Community
Fr: Lynne Schaefer, Vice President for Administration and Finance
Nancy Young, Vice President for Student Affairs
Re: H1N1 Update
Welcome back to campus. We want to update you about how UMBC is preparing for an anticipated H1N1 flu outbreak and provide you with information on how to take preventive measures and on how to learn more about flu symptoms and treatment.
With the possibility of higher than normal absentee rates, targeted information and guidance will be sent to various segments of the campus community over the next week. Faculty will receive information from the Provost’s office on classroom procedures during an outbreak. Faculty and staff will receive information from Human Resources about a system that will track absences due to flu. The Graduate School will update graduate assistants on absences due to flu and Student Affairs will provide updates to students. The Office of the Vice President for Research is working with department chairs to develop contingency plans for research laboratories and key research facilities, while the Office of Sponsored Programs, the Office of Technology Development and the Human and Animal Research Protection Office are also developing plans should there be a requirement for a full or partial campus closure.
As confirmed H1N1 cases appear in Maryland and on campus, UMBC’s Pandemic Flu Committee continues to meet and monitor the situation. The Committee will manage campus-wide communication, coordinate appropriate medical response and make recommendations for changes in scheduling and the use of facilities as appropriate. This includes having a pandemic flu plan in place and remaining in close contact with the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (MDHMH), which will take the lead in responding to such health threats. The Committee will also follow the MDHMH and Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines for vaccinations should a vaccine become available.
We will continue to share updates with the campus community. For up-to-date campus information and links to other Web sites, please review the UHS Web site Health Alerts section at http://www.umbc.edu/uhs/index.php?page=healthalerts. If you have a general question or concern related to the H1N1 pandemic, please call University Health Services at ext. 5-2542 and press “1,” or the Division of Student Affairs at ext. 5-2393.
Individual Guidance Regarding H1N1 Flu
If you have flu-like symptoms or a confirmed case of H1N1:
- Faculty and staff are expected to use their department’s sick leave procedures. Supervisors are aware that there will be many cases when employees will be absent from work for more than five days because of the flu and that these employees may not have a doctor’s note. For more information about sick leave procedures, contact the Department of Human Resources at ext. 5-2337 or visit http://www.umbc.edu/hr.
- Students are expected to follow their professors’ procedures for calling in sick.
CDC currently recommends that you stay at home if you have flu-like symptoms (recommendations may change):
- If you have flu-like symptoms, including a fever over 100 degrees F (37.8 degrees C) AND cough, sore throat, or runny nose or stuffiness, then stay home, call your physician and remain at home until 24 hours without needing fever-reduction medicine after you no longer have a fever.
- If you are mildly sick with flu-like symptoms, stay home and recover.
- If you are immune compromised and have concerns, call your doctor.
If you are exhibiting any of the following warning signs, the CDC recommends you call your doctor, go to the hospital or call 911:
- Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath,
- Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
- Sudden dizziness or confusion
- Severe or persistent vomiting
Please help prevent the spread of disease by:
- Learning more about the flu by regularly visiting and reviewing materials found on http://www.cdc.gov or http://www.flu.gov.
- Washing your hands often, especially after coughing, sneezing and wiping or blowing your nose and before eating or touching your face.
- Covering your mouth with a paper tissue when coughing or sneezing; throwing tissues directly in the trash after use. When tissues are unavailable, coughing or sneezing into a shirt sleeve and placing the clothing directly in a laundry bag or machine.
- Using paper tissues when wiping or blowing your nose; throwing tissues directly in the trash after use.
- Staying (or going) home and avoiding contact with other people as much as possible if you have ILI; self-isolating (i.e., stay away from others) in your home, off-campus housing or residence hall room (if you are unable to go home) for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone without the use of fever reducing medicine leaving your home only for medical care or for other necessities only.
- Using a household disinfectant to wipe down commonly touched areas like work stations, counter tops, door knobs and bathroom surfaces, particularly in public or shared work or residential spaces.
- Contacting your health care provider or University Health Services (ext. 5-2542) to report or consult about illness by telephone or other remote means before seeking care if you have Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) and wish to seek medical care.
- If you have ILI and must leave your home or residence hall room (for example, to seek medical care or to obtain necessities), wearing a loose-fitting (surgical) mask if available.
- Preparing now by having emergency supplies on hand. For more information on emergency supplies, visit http://www.flu.gov, http://www.redcross.org or http://www.cdc.gov.
- Talking with your family, roommates and workmates now to plan what you would do in the event that the university would close during a health or other emergency. For more information about creating emergency plans, visit http://emergency.cdc.gov.
If you are feeling anxious, read about how to handle your feelings and concerns at http://www.apahelpcenter.org/articles/article.php?id=194.
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