Letter to the Dartmouth Community
May 12, 2006
The Emergency Management Group (EMG) meets regularly to discuss preparedness issues relating to a range of potential situations, including ice storms, power outages, earthquakes, and terrorist activity, among others. As part of that process, we have recently been preparing for a possible flu pandemic. Although there is uncertainty within the scientific community as to whether the H5N1 Avian flu virus, which has killed millions of birds, will mutate into a form that could pass easily from human to human, there is broad agreement that individuals and institutions should have plans in place to deal with the effects of a pandemic, should that become necessary. We have made significant progress in our planning.
As you may know, the federal government has just released more information on its planning and many local communities are also responding.
For more information on avian flu, see the following Websites:
A serious pandemic could cause widespread illness, death, and social disruption. The federal government has suggested that a worst-case pandemic could kill up to 2 million Americans and result in 40 percent of workers being absent. While we all hope that such a scenario never materializes, we need to make sure that the College is as prepared as possible. Consequently, we have met with a number of managers in areas across the campus to develop our plans, including health services; facilities, operations, and management; residential life; student services; off campus programs; safety and security; computing; and the academic areas of the College among others. We will continue to work with these groups as well as others to ensure that we have in place the infrastructure and plans that we will need.
Planning is particularly important at Dartmouth because of the residential nature of our community. If the virus mutates into a form to allow human-to-human transmission, early efforts to contain the spread of disease will be critical. Good hygiene, including hand washing and the use of face masks, could help limit the spread of the virus. The College has jointly sponsored, with Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, two public presentations by Dr. Kathy Kirkland of the infectious disease unit at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) on the subject of avian flu. Future presentations will include sessions on general emergency preparedness for individuals and families. The EMG group works closely with colleagues at DHMC and with local and state officials. We also monitor the websites of the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization.
If a serious pandemic were to occur, it may become necessary to suspend some of our operations. President Wright would make such a decision following consultation with the Board of Trustees, the senior officers, and state and local health officials. The College would evacuate as many students as possible to minimize the number of students living in close proximity. The federal government has suggested that in the event of a pandemic, the government could impose travel restrictions. Thus the College also recognizes that some students may need to remain on campus, and plans are in place to take care of those students. Students should develop plans with their families about where they would go and how they would communicate with one another in the case of this or other emergencies.
There are conversations under way now within divisions across the campus on pandemic planning, and on the effects a decision to suspend the academic program at the College would have on students, faculty, and employees. Deans are speaking with faculty members about their ongoing research needs, many supervisors are training employees in essential jobs on how to stay safe and provide the best service to the community, and plans are being made to ensure the continuation of certain key functions in the event of a College closure, such as power plant operations, technology infrastructure, communications, payroll, and insurance. The leaders in Human Resources are also working with senior officers on how best to anticipate the long-term needs of our employees. Dartmouth is a strong and thoughtful community, and, together, we will do our very best to protect all of our members.
While there is no indication presently that the virus that causes avian flu will gain the ability to readily infect humans, the nature of our campus environment and our location demand that we plan ahead and plan wisely. We have established a special Web site that contains background information on avian flu and pandemic preparedness including information for families and individuals. If there are significant new developments, the website will be updated immediately. You should also consult that site for answers to questions on individual preparedness planning. We will use this email account to send out regular updates on our planning.
If you have questions that are not addressed at any of the websites mentioned in this email, we hope you will feel free to contact those members of the EMG (listed below) who have been working on Dartmouth's pandemic planning efforts.
Pandemic Planning Group
Michael Blayney, Director, Environmental Health and Safety
Liz Bankert, Assistant Provost
Bill Boyle, Hanover Health Officer
Sheila Culbert, (Chair) Senior Assistant to the President
Julie Dolan, Associate Vice President for Fiscal Affairs
Linda Kennedy, Director of Student Activities
Rob McClung, Professor of Biological Sciences and Associate Dean for the Sciences
Dan Nelson, Senior Associate Dean
Traci Nordberg, Chief Human Resources Officer
Laurel Stavis, Director, Periodicals and Communication Services
Jack Turco, Director, Dartmouth College Health Service
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