Pandemic Planning at Pierce College
Thursday, September 24th, 2009From an email from Joann Wiszmann, Vice President Administrative Services.
—————
Welcome Back!
This email is intended to summarize some of the key points of the district’s plan for responding to possible impacts of Swine Flu and to provide employees with access to more information, if desired.
During the summer, we worked on a Continuity of Operations Plan. We focused on the possibility of widespread illness among faculty, staff and employees and also looked at our options if we had to close the facilities for a period of time. You can see a short overview of the plan at , https://intranet.pierce.ctc.edu/safety/coop/. I have attached a document entitled “What Employees Should Know” that contains specific information for employees.
We are currently in the “alert” phase of the plan. That means we are trying to get information out so we all know what to expect. In addition to reading the attachment to this email, there are several things you can do to help ensure our plan is a success.
- We have distributed copies of “What Students Should Know” in areas with high student traffic - please help us get this in the hands of students.
- Whenever possible, please communicate with students using their college-provided email accounts, rather than their personal accounts. If you need information on how to obtain student email addresses, contact Student Services or my office. Using these addresses will help our students get used to checking their Pierce College email or forwarding it to their personal accounts.
- Watch a couple videos that will help us all reduce the spread of the flu. “Why Don’t We Do It In Our Sleeves?” (4min. 50 sec.) extols the virtues of sneezing or coughing into fabrics covering one’s arm and is pretty entertaining for a public health video; and, “Pandemic Flu Healthy Habits” (2min. 41sec.) from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is more traditional in its approach, and has good information. - Touch refresh to launch.
- Make sure your information for your department’s phone tree and your emergency contact information as filed in HR are current.
- Talk with your supervisor and work group about the functions most essential for your department and how those functions will be covered if a lot of employees are out sick or if we have to close the facility for a short period of time.
Thank you for your help. Please contact me or HR if you have any questions or suggestions.
Joann Wiszmann
Vice President Administrative Services
Pierce College District
PHN 253-964-6506
FAX 253-964-6382
jwiszmann@pierce.ctc.edu
