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H1N1 Virus Guidelines from Academic and Student Affairs
October 15th 2009

Following are some guidelines about H1N1.  The Pandemic Planning Committee will continue to monitor the situation closely. 

Multiple resources and reference material on symptoms and care will be found on the LCC H1N1 web page, please take a few moments to review them at: http://2011sitearchive.lanecc.edu/healthclinic/fluinfo.html 

As a general rule our guidance to all employees is going to be “if you have the symptoms of H1N1, call in sick, stay home and follow the directives for taking care of yourself.” 

In the event of a wide-spread outbreak it is anticipated that medical offices and emergency rooms may be understaffed and over worked.  The Center for Disease Control guidance includes recommendations that individuals ill with H1N1 avoid going to emergency rooms.

Conversations with students about H1N1.
Faculty have been asking for help in working with students.  Here are two issues that have come up.

 "Is it okay to tell the class that one of their peers is out with H1N1?"  
Short answer –no, you should not identify the student or inform the class. It is doubtful that the ill student, unless they are in the hospital, has actually been identified with H1N1, since only hospitalized patients are actually being tested.  Plus there’s the panic factor.  Some students might feel they need to stay home right away; some students might use the opportunity to stay home if they are not sick; some students would assume that because they have the sniffles, they have H1N1.  A general announcement about H1N1 accompanied by some education and the protocols that are going to be used to handle absences is very appropriate (see http://2011sitearchive.lanecc.edu/healthclinic/fluinfo.html) . Please accommodate students and be as flexible as possible.

Should I require a doctor’s note for students who miss class because of the flu?
No: disease prevention guidelines recommend against this. Please do not require the student to go to the Health Center or their medical provider to provide documentation of their illness. This only overwhelms the health care system and prevents care for those might need it more for truly acute conditions.   
               
Please remember to check in with Lane’s H1N1 website to keep apprised of any health updates. 

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