Emergency Response

INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS AND PARENTS ON FLU/ILLNESS MANAGEMENT

As the academic year begins, the College has made plans in the event we experience a more active than usual flu season. Jointly, we are taking steps to prevent the spread of flu at Champlain College and have outlined below the steps that each of us can take to help accomplish this.  Our overall goal is to balance the goal of reducing the number of people who become ill from influenza with the goal of minimizing educational and social disruption.  Information and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guide our communications and policies.

Practices that can help limit the spread of illness include:

• Practicing good hand hygiene by washing your hands with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing. Alcohol-based hand cleaners also are effective.
• Practicing respiratory etiquette by covering your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. If you don't have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow or shoulder, not into your hands.  Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth; germs are spread this way.
• Knowing the signs and symptoms of the flu. A fever is a temperature taken with a thermometer that is equal to or greater than 100 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius. Look for possible signs of fever: if the person feels very warm, has a flushed appearance, or is sweating or shivering.
• Staying home, in your residence hall room, or your apartment if you have flu or flu-like illness for at least 24 hours after you no longer have a fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius) or signs of a fever (have chills, feel very warm, have a flushed appearance, or are sweating). This should be determined without the use of fever-reducing medications (any medicine that contains ibuprofen or acetaminophen).   Don't go to class or work. 
• Talking with your health care provider about whether you should be vaccinated for seasonal flu. Also if you are at higher risk for flu complications from 2009 H1N1 flu, the CDC recommends you consider getting the H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available.  Because college students are in the high risk category given their age, the College strongly recommends both the seasonal flu and the H1N1 vaccinations.  The cost of these vaccinations would be covered by the College.

In the event that this year's flu season becomes more severe, we may take the following additional steps to prevent the spread of the virus:

• Encourage students at higher risk for complications to return to or stay at home.  These students should make this decision in consultation with their personal health care provider or the College's Health Services.
• Suspend classes. The length of time classes would be suspended will depend on the goal of suspending classes as well as the severity and extent of illness. If we close, it will be for at least a week. Depending on the length of time classes are suspended, arrangements have been made to continue offering the majority of our classes through a virtual on-line environment.
• Implement Evacuation Plans: Should the College need to close on short notice, all residential students have completed an evacuation plan identifying the place they would go in the event of an emergency closing.  We encourage students and families to discuss this plan so students are reminded of where to go if the need arises.

Because information and recommendations continue to be forthcoming from the CDC, we recommend checking our web site regularly (www.champlain.edu).  If you have specific questions we can help with, please call Mary Kay Kennedy, Vice President for Enrollment and Student Life at 802-865-5412 or by e-mail at kennedym@champlain.edu.  Other resources that may be helpful include:

Champlain College Health Services, 802-860-2711, or mcclellan@champlain.edu

Champlain College Residential Life, 802-865-6428, or Mikell@champlain.edu

Champlain Abroad, 802-383-6633, or jcross@champlain.edu, or www.cdc.gov/travel

The College continues to work closely with the Vermont Health Department to monitor flu conditions and will make decisions about the best steps to take concerning our institution. We will keep you updated with new information as it becomes available to us.

Mary Kay Kennedy
August 27, 2009

PDF Documents to Dowload

Flu Preparedness For Families