Public Health Practices

During the H1N1 pandemic, the University of Michigan developed policies and practices around provision of alcohol-free hand sanitizer. In April 2009, the University of Michigan was planning for its spring graduation ceremonies. Planners realized that students' families from all over the nation and world would be visiting during graduation.

In spring 2009, at the start of the H1N1 influenza pandemic, an H1N1 Committee was formed at the University of Toledo (UT) in Ohio. Committee members quickly recognized two valuable resources in the fight against pandemic influenza: students and community partnerships.

In December 2008, before the first case of H1N1 pandemic influenza was discovered, Purdue University drafted a plan that outlines how essential and non-essential employees would access its campuses. The plan, developed by Purdue's Pandemic Preparedness Committee, includes a useful appendix: Essential Function Staff Recommendation. The document provides a system of color-coding employee groups that may enhance public health and emergency preparedness planning.

Savvy planning and resource use helped Pennsylvania State University (PSU) make the best of the challenge of holding mass vaccination clinics. A key part of PSU's success was including upper-level nursing students as vaccinators.

The University of Chicago needed to act quickly in late April 2009 when it discovered a Medical Center staff member was diagnosed with H1N1 as cases of the virus were appearing in California and Mexico. Lacking complete knowledge about the scope of the outbreak and the morbidity and mortality rate, Student Care Center (SCC) director Dr.

The 2009 H1N1 pandemic flu outbreak forced the University of Chicago to make immediate housing plans after the flu virus was first identified in California and Mexico. So, when H1N1 hit in 2009, two things happened that influenced their response strategy immediately, said Dr. Kristine Bordenave, director of the Student Care Center (SCC): One, the university had one of the first H1N1 infections in the nation, a hospital staff member; and two, the timing of the academic year.

During the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, Purdue University developed and tested specific floor plans for designated Points of Dispensing (POD) sites on campus. According to Ron Wright, director of Campus Emergency Preparedness and Planning, "The draft plans were used as a guideline as they were a 'work in progress' at the time of the H1N1 pandemic. The plans were adjusted as needed and will be finalized with the next revision of our Integrated Emergency Operations Plan."

During two days at the beginning of the H1N1 outbreak in fall 2009, members of the Purdue Chapter of the American Red Cross, along with other student volunteers, distributed brief informational materials on H1N1 to students while riding CityBus vehicles on routes serving the campus. The students also gave passengers four ounce bottles of waterless hand sanitizer.

Per the National Incident Management System (NIMS), Department Operations Centers (DOC) are established and activated by individual departments to coordinate and control actions specific to that department during an emergency event. A DOC is a physical facility or location similar to the campus Emergency Operations Center (EOC). However, the purpose of a DOC is to manage and coordinate events specific to that department.