SafePlans is offering a free pandemic planning web-conference for educators and public health officials. A link to registration is located on the SchoolSafetyNews.com homepage.
The recent declaration of a public health emergency over the swine flu cases in the U.S. and Mexico highlights the importance of public health and [pandemic planning. An influenza-based public health emergency and/or pandemic has always been a question of “when” not “if” and while it was assumed a new strain of /avian flu would be the culprit, experts emphasized a pandemic can be caused by any new virus.
It is not known if this particular “swine flu” virus could even lead to a pandemic; but planning for a Pandemic event requires strategies unlike any other disaster. This is primarily due to the facts that when a pandemic occurs we will 1) see it coming, 2) be unable to stop it, 3) be forced to deal with exposure concerns for over one year and 4) will take several years to recover.
What Is an Influenza Pandemic?
A pandemic is defined as a global disease outbreak. An influenza pandemic occurs when a new influenza virus emerges for which there is little or no immunity in the human population, begins to cause serious illness and then spreads easily person-to-person worldwide.
Historically, the 20th century saw 3 pandemics of influenza:
- 1918 influenza pandemic caused at least 500,000 U.S. deaths and up to 40 million deaths worldwide
- 1957 influenza pandemic caused at least 70,000 U.S. deaths and 1-2 million deaths worldwide
- 1968 influenza pandemic caused about 34,000 U.S. deaths and 700,000 deaths worldwide
Characteristics and challenges of a pandemic
- Rapid Worldwide Spread
- Health Care Systems Overloaded
- Medical Supplies Inadequate
- Economic and Social Disruption
Communications and Information are Critical Components of Pandemic Response
Education and outreach are critical to preparing for a pandemic. Understanding what a pandemic is, what needs to be done at all levels to prepare for pandemic influenza, and what could happen during a pandemic helps us make informed decisions both as individuals and as a nation. Should a pandemic occur the public must be able to depend on its government to provide scientifically sound public health information quickly, openly and dependably.
What Can Be Done?
While there is nothing a government, school district or business can do to prevent the onset of a pandemic, there is an enormous opportunity to mitigate its effects via planning and training. These preparedness measures should focus on three key stages:
- Preparedness
- Response
- Recovery
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An untested and untrained plan is little more than theory. After developing school/college emergency plans a training program should be designed to educate students, parents, teachers, staff, crisis team members and administrators in threat assessment procedures, emergency response, management policies and procedures. Once training is implemented, exercises should be conducted to test the plans and training.
Currently, most educational facilities have adopted a training philosophy that embraces performing extremely well under reasonable conditions, rather than performing reasonably well under extreme conditions. For example:
Lockdown, Weather, Earthquake & Fire Drills Deficiencies
Staff has advanced knowledge of the exact time of the drill and the drill occurs when all students are in the classroom.
Solution
After two or three successful drills, limit advanced knowledge to the day of the event and implement the drills during transition times. Note: Avoid conducting drills during meal periods, due to the costs associates with missed lunches. To test response, set up a mock lunch period with students and staff.
Once you have your drills up and running, it is time to conduct training exercises. Tabletop & functional exercises use vivid scenarios, guided by experienced and certified facilitators, to engage participants in discussions of how they would respond to hypothetical events. Tabletops are designed to be a non-threatening and relatively low cost approach to validating capabilities. Use Homeland Security Exercise Evaluation Program (HSEEP) based exercises to explore and validate plans, identify logical or structural conflicts or gaps in those plans and develop specific areas for further study and improvement. Scenario should be coordinated/developed with local emergency management and public safety.
Stay safe
Brad
This post is provided by SafePlans (www.safeplans.com), an all-hazards preparedness solution including emergency plans, staff training, and detailed site mapping.
Click here to learn more about the author
©2008 SafePlans, LLC
Recently reports of the bird/avian flu have resurfaced. This particular virus has experts worldwide concerned that it could mutate and lead to a pandemic. Planning for a Pandemic event requires strategies unlike any other disaster. This is primarily due to the facts that should a pandemic occur we will 1) see it coming, 2) be unable to stop it, 3) be forced to deal with exposure concerns for over one year and 4) will take several years to recover.
Overview
What Is an Influenza Pandemic?
A pandemic is defined as a global disease outbreak. An influenza pandemic occurs when a new influenza virus emerges for which there is little or no immunity in the human population, begins to cause serious illness and then spreads easily person-to-person worldwide.
Historically, the 20th century saw 3 pandemics of influenza:
• 1918 influenza pandemic caused at least 500,000 U.S. deaths and up to 40 million deaths worldwide
• 1957 influenza pandemic caused at least 70,000 U.S. deaths and 1-2 million deaths worldwide
• 1968 influenza pandemic caused about 34,000 U.S. deaths and 700,000 deaths worldwide
Characteristics and challenges of a pandemic
1. Rapid Worldwide Spread
2. Health Care Systems Overloaded
3. Medical Supplies Inadequate
4. Economic and Social Disruption
Communications and Information are Critical Components of Pandemic Response
Education and outreach are critical to preparing for a pandemic. Understanding what a pandemic is, what needs to be done at all levels to prepare for pandemic influenza, and what could happen during a pandemic helps us make informed decisions both as individuals and as a nation. Should a pandemic occur the public must be able to depend on its government to provide scientifically sound public health information quickly, openly and dependably.
What Can Be Done?
While there is nothing a government, school district or business can do to prevent the onset of a pandemic, there is an enormous opportunity to mitigate its effects via planning and training. These preparedness measures should focus on three key stages:
1. Preparedness
2. Response
3. Recovery
1. Preparedness
Perhaps the most important aspect of mitigating a pandemic outbreak lies in the development and implementation of training programs and the creation of plans that outline measures to be taken as part of the response and recovery stages.
A. Training
Programs should be developed to aid leadership in developing instructional programs to familiarize their co-workers and subordinates with the following measures.
1. Social Distancing
2. Hygiene
3. Planning
2. Response
The response to a pandemic event may not necessarily have a clear onset. As human-to-human transmission of the virus becomes more prevalent, response measures will need to be increased as the level of human-to-human transmission increases. Response measures, including training programs and procedures should be developed to the extent possible during the planning stage.
A. Social Distancing
B. Wellness Program Enforcement
C. Hygiene Practices
D. School Closures
3. Recovery
If recovery is defined as a return to normal operations, this stage will not be implemented until the pandemic has ended. However, there are many procedures that can be made during the Response state that may minimize the effects of events such as long-term closings.
Remember, always collaborate with your local public health agencies on pandemic planning issues.
Stay safe!
Brad
This post is provided by SafePlans (www.safeplans.com), an all-hazards preparedness solution including emergency plans, staff training, and detailed site mapping.
Click here to learn more about the author
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