Is Your Company Prepared For A Pandemic

If a pandemic were to strike, the biggest impact would likely be on staffing. While some employees could be ill, others might be too frightened to come to work and many might have to stay home to care for affected children or other family members. Experts suggest that businesses should anticipate absences of up to 50% of their staff for about two weeks at the height of a severe pandemic, and lower levels of absences for a few weeks on either side of the outbreak’s peak.

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Preparing For A Flu Pandemic

It’s been almost 40 years since the last flu pandemic swept through the world, killing 34,000 people in the United States and 700,000 worldwide. Disease trackers fear that we are due for another epidemic outbreak  most likely one caused by an avian flu.

A flu pandemic would likely hit Indiana hard, reducing its economy by almost 6 percent, a recent study by the Trust for America’s Health found. While there’s no reason to believe that such a pandemic is imminent, there are steps that everyone can take to prepare before disaster strikes. Judy Moon, immunization program manager for Visiting Nurse Service Inc., offers the following pointers.
“Just be aware that it is a possibility,” Moon says. “We don’t want to scare anybody.”

For more information, you can visit www.pandemicflu.gov.

1. Make sure you have a two-week supply of food and water: In a pandemic, stores may close or run out of groceries. The water supply may be contaminated and you need to stay hydrated.
So keep enough bottled water and ready-to-eat foods to last two weeks. Think “high protein” foods when you’re amassing your supplies to get you through, Moon says.

Some foods to put in the larder: peanut butter, dry cereal, granola, protein bars and canned foods like soups, canned meat and fish, fruits and vegetables.

Also, make sure the medicine cabinet is stocked with pain and fever relievers, stomach remedies, and cough and cold medicines. Keep soap and water or alcohol- based hand wash in the house as well.

2. Don’t forget other essentials: In case of emergency or the loss of electricity, you might need a flashlight, battery-operated radio and batteries. And keep a manual can opener on hand as a backup.

3. Be prepared to stay home: If a flu pandemic hits, one way to keep yourself safe and healthy is to is avoid unnecessary contact with large groups of people.

“Isolation is an excellent thing when this happens,” Moon says.
This may mean working from home, so check with your company to see if it has a pandemic flu preparedness plan.

4. Talk to your family in advance: If your children are old enough to understand, make sure they know about the food supply and what they should do in the event of a pandemic.

You can also use this opportunity to teach them proper hygiene, which will help ward off regular colds and viruses. Encourage them to wash their hands frequently with soap and water, cover their mouths when they cough, and use tissues when they sneeze.

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