Event Details

Event: Pandemic Flu Readiness Workshop, January 23, 2008

Dear Colleagues:

Those involved with pandemic planning over the last few years know that some amount of “pandemic planning fatigue” has set in, and that concerns about the possibility of a pandemic have been supplanted by other, more immediate demands.

I would like to bring together colleagues from local area colleges and universities to review the status of our campus pandemic flu plans; to share what’s in place and where we’re stuck; as well as to be updated by local emergency and public health agencies. The day-long conference will have a focus in these areas:
  • The academic program and student services
  • Class suspension and resumption;
  • Housing and dining pre-planning;
  • Campus medical services (including mental health support);
  • Evacuating students from the Boston-Cambridge area (should they stay or go?
  • Planning for impacts on human resources and budgets
  • Legal and government compliance issues (e.g., contracts, student visas, financial aid)
  • Volunteers and cross-training for “all hazard” disaster response
With luck, perhaps we can improve lines of communication that allow us to move ahead more collaboratively.

We hope that each participating school will send two to three representatives to this session, including staff from some of the administrative areas covered in the above list who have been emergency decision makers in your institution’s pandemic planning.

William VanSchalkwyk, CSP, CHMM
Managing Director, EHS Programs
Co-Director, Security and Emergency Management
Massachusetts Institute of Technology