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From: Emergency Management Group (EMG)
To: President's Administrative Forum // The Dartmouth Community
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 H5N1 Avian
flu virus, which is now killing 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:
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/en/index.html
http://www.pandemicflu.gov/
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 hope 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 the health services; facilities, operations, and management;
residential life; student services; off campus programs; safety and security;
computing; and the academic areas of the College. 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, the continuation of the normal academic
operations of the College would be unwise, and 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 website (http://www.dartmouth.edu/~news/emergency/flu/)
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.
If you have questions that are not addressed at any of the Web sites
mentioned in this letter, 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.
Michael Blayney, Director, Environmental Health and Safety
Liz Bankert, Assistant Provost
Bill Boyle, Hanover Health Officer
Sheila Culbert, 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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