Who is the single best person to address H1N1 influenza? You are
Who is the single best person to address H1N1 influenza? You are
Quell panic by drawing on trust from employees
Employees trust you to help them when they are sick, hurt, or worried about anything from chemical exposure to a back injury that keeps them out of work. For this reason, "the occupational health nurse is the best person in the company to address the H1N1 health issue," says Kay N. Campbell, EdD, RN-C, COHN-S, FAAOHN, president of the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses.
"This trust is invaluable in a time of crisis when fear and emotions run high," says Campbell. "The company can rely on the nurse as a valuable spokesperson in helping employees understand the company pandemic plan and their role in it."
J. David Clyde, MD, president and CEO of Atlanta-based Spinnaker Medical Consultants International, an international medical firm that provides occupational and travel medicine consultation," says that each occupational health professional should "get out front of the issue before people began to panic from all the media coverage" Clyde is board certified in occupational medicine and internal medicine.
Employees are likely to feel overwhelmed with information, which is why you must step in to give them clear facts they can act upon. "With all of the media hype, it is hard for non-medical people to sort through the information and understand what is happening," says Clyde. "It is very important for employees to hear from the company and know that the company is aware and concerned."
As an occupational health professional, you have a critical role to play in mediating the negative impact of the pandemic on your organization. "Ensure that the company is following their internal pandemic plan, as well as local, state, national and global guidances," says Campbell. (To access guidance documents from the World Health Organization, go to www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu. Updates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can be accessed at www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/whatsnew.htm, including "Considerations for Pregnant Women Who are More Likely to be Exposed to Novel H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu) at Work: Information for Women in Education, Child Care, and Health Care.")
When looking at your worksite's pandemic preparedness plan, work with key players to implement the policies, says Susan A. Randolph, MSN, RN, COHN-S, FAAOHN, clinical assistant professor for the Occupational Health Nursing Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "For example, if schools are closed, how will employees deal with kids at home?" Randolph says. "Can some employees work from home?"
Control absenteeism
Ensure that the company is planning for flexible working arrangements for parents who might need to stay at home with children out of school, says Campbell.
However, there is another important issue related to absenteeism: ensuring that sick workers stay home. Tamara Y. Blow, RN, MSA, COHN-S/CM, CBM, FAAOHN, manager of occupational health services at Altria Client Services in Richmond, VA, says, "I have been fighting fires with trying to alleviate the fears of senior management all week."
The occupational health nurse must be the "voice of reason" heard by the workforce, says Blow. This need became apparent during a conference call when an emergency task force was called together that included security, safety, occupational health services, communications, and human resources. The question came up about creating a work site quarantine area, she says.
Blow stated, "Look folks. If people are sick with the flu, they need to stay home. If they come to work sick with the flu, they need to come to clinic to be evaluated, and the nurse is going to send them home. We don't want sick people at work. This is not a hospital. This is a worksite." Blow says that so far, none of the company's facilities have seen increased absenteeism, but she emphasizes that in no uncertain terms, you should instruct employees to stay at home if they become sick.
Address fears of workers
Employees are likely to be worried about how swine flu is spread, and information is the best way to assuage those fears. Explain to workers that influenza viruses spread from person to person in respiratory droplets of coughs and sneezes, says Clyde.
"This happens when droplets from a cough or sneeze of an infected person are propelled through the air and deposited on the mouth or nose of people nearby," he says. "Influenza viruses also spread when a person touches respiratory droplets on another person or an object and then touches their own mouth or nose before washing their hands."
According to Evelyn I. Bain, MEd, RN, COHN-S, FAAOHN, associate director and coordinator of the health and safety division for the Massachusetts Nurses Association in Canton, "At this time, there have been no precautions identified as specific to H1N1, but precautions such as hand washing and isolation of patients with infectious diseases would be routine."
Bain advises following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web site daily for information on the steps they are suggesting related to immunization, personal protective equipment, and infection control. "Encourage employees to report their own symptoms should they appear and stay home from work if they are sick," she says.
SOURCE
For more information on addressing H1N1 in your workplace, contact:
J. David Clyde, MD, President and CEO, Spinnaker Medical Consultants International, Atlanta. Phone: (404) 320-6009. Fax: (770) 216-2034. E-mail: [email protected].
Employees trust you to help them when they are sick, hurt, or worried about anything from chemical exposure to a back injury that keeps them out of work. For this reason, "the occupational health nurse is the best person in the company to address the H1N1 health issue," says Kay N. Campbell, EdD, RN-C, COHN-S, FAAOHN, president of the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses.Subscribe Now for Access
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