May 4, 2009

Emergency planning and flu information

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Members of the Campus Community:

We’re beginning the Summer I session under unusual circumstances, as our nation addresses the possibility of a pandemic. Your patience and vigilance will be particularly important in the coming weeks as we work together to protect our communities and mitigate the impact of any illness that might occur.

There are very basic precautions that each of us must commit to taking. You’ve heard them already, but I can’t stress them enough.

• Wash your hands frequently.
• Cover your mouth when you sneeze or cough.
• Stay home if you feel ill or show any flu symptoms.

We will face the challenges ahead with solid preparation, thanks to the hard work of a group of staff and faculty members. Links to the latest information about our campus response can be found on a new Web page devoted to the current situation.

http://www.wmich.edu/flu/

Many of you have been asking for more detailed information on our emergency plans. A complete Web site devoted to emergency planning also has just gone online. While it covers a variety of possible emergencies, a major section is devoted to this University's plans for pandemic response.

http://www.obf.wmich.edu/safety/

The information was not developed for this specific flu alert, but it will answer your questions and guide our responses if a pandemic is declared, and we need to adjust our operations in minor or significant ways. Among the items you'll find are FAQs designed to address student, family and employee concerns.

• Information about how the University status and response will be communicated
• Details on how the University would handle short-term or long-term closure
• Information about how sick and annual leave should be used
• Options for continuing operations in critical areas

There is a wealth of additional information, for which we all owe a note of thanks to our emergency preparedness and pandemic planning committees, especially Drs. Lisa Marshall, medical director at Sindecuse Health Center, and Pat Holton, manager of environmental health and safety in our Department of Public Safety, who have led the pandemic planning effort.

I urge you to go to the new Web pages, bookmark them and refer to them frequently, as well as the WMU home page, where major announcements will be posted.

Best regards,

John M. Dunn
President