Dartmouth Travel Policies Related to 2009 H1N1 Influenza
May 1, 2009
A Message to the Dartmouth Community from Provost Barry Scherr: Dartmouth Travel Policies Related to 2009 H1N1 Influenza ("Swine Flu")
As the strain of influenza commonly called swine flu has spread around the world, Dartmouth administrators are confronting most of the same challenges and questions that colleges and universities everywhere face regarding how best to protect the health of their campus community and deal with any cases of the disease that may appear on-campus.
I'm writing you today with the first of what will probably be a series of notices about policies the institution is adopting to deal with this situation. Dartmouth has two standing committees that have been working for a number of years to prepare for a range of possible institutional emergencies, including pandemic influenza. The Emergency Policy Group, or EPG, on which I serve, establishes policies for dealing with an urgent situation. The other committee is the Emergency Management Group, or EMG, which works to implement measures adopted by the policy group.
Today's message concerns policy in a key area related to this situation: travel between the institution and areas that are considered high-risk zones for contracting swine flu. After careful study of prevailing medical recommendations and consideration of Dartmouth's particular circumstances, we have come to the following conclusions:
- Students, faculty members and staff members returning from business or personal travel to or having close interaction with persons from areas affected by swine flu, may return to campus, provided they are not exhibiting symptoms of the disease. We will ask these individuals to self-monitor for symptoms and promptly report them so we can test for the disease and provide medical assistance as needed. Note that the symptoms are the same as for seasonal flu: a fever above 100 degrees F (37.8 C) together with a cough or sore throat. In setting this policy, we are following recommendations from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.
- Members of the community planning to undertake travel away from Hanover will fall into two categories subject to different policies:
- For individuals planning to travel outside the community on College business, decisions about whether to travel will be left up to those individuals in consultation with their managers — though we urge that before travel occurs, they check the web site of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to assess the degree of risk the CDC has found in their destination area, and that they be aware that in current circumstances any travel may involve increased risk of contracting the disease.
- For groups contemplating travel under the auspices of Dartmouth, we will require that group travel be discussed and cleared with the appropriate dean or vice president or the Provost before it is undertaken. We are setting this policy because we are dealing with a disease that is now proven to be highly transmissible between individuals.
- Please note that Dartmouth faculty, staff and students who work at another facility such as Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center will be expected to comply with the host institution's policies and procedures.
- In consultation with the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, we are not currently limiting visitors coming to campus. However, we have developed a set of guidelines for visitors while they are on-campus.
The swine flu situation presents a very rapidly changing challenge that will require adaptation to evolving circumstances. This means that our policies will need to evolve with new developments in the situation, so an announcement on any given policy may be superseded at some point in the future. We will be sure to make clear when that is the case.
While we all deal with this situation, we urge that members of the community stay abreast of developments at Dartmouth and elsewhere through the following web sites:
