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Checklist to Help Businesses Prepare for a Pandemic
The government has released a checklist designed to help companies prepare in case of a flu pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention developed the “Business Pandemic Influenza Checklist,” and it is designed to identify specific activities companies can do immediately to prepare for a pandemic.
The checklist suggests companies plan how they would forecast employee absences during a pandemic; disseminate information to employees; establish flexible work sites, and; establish policies for employees who have been exposed, are suspected to be ill or become ill at the worksite.
The checklist also breaks down planning activities into broader categories, including:
- Planning for the impact of a pandemic on a business
- Planning for the impact of a pandemic on employees and customers
- Establishing policies to be implemented during a pandemic
- Allocating resources to protect employees and customers during a pandemic
- Communicating and educating employees
- Coordinating with external organizations and communities
www.pandemicflu.gov
Risk Management is Key to Surviving a Flu Pandemic
For companies to survive the social and economic disruption caused by a pandemic, it is vital they develop, prepare and test business continuity plans, says Link Associates International. In a document titled “Pandemic Flu Contingency,” Link sets out the steps senior management need to consider should the avian flu situation worsen.
“A major consideration for companies must be the economic impacts of the pandemic,” says author Jamie Jameson. “The personal and health impacts are potentially devastating, but the economic impacts are likely to be longer-lasting and even more insidious than the virus itself. Companies need to prepare now, not only for the loss of staff during the pandemic but for the business consequences.”
This report advises firms to constantly review and update their plans and business continuity arrangements relating to all aspects of operation, including: Making provision for widespread staff absenteeism (estimated to reach or exceed 50 percent during the peak of infection), including cross-training to cover potential skills shortages; ensuring adequate medical coverage, insurance and support for travelers, and; confirming key partners and the supply chain have all developed interlocking contingency plans.
www.linkassociates.com
How Will Businesses and the Public Cope with an Avian Flu Pandemic?
Governments, non-governmental organizations, corporate leaders, employees, and citizens worldwide are increasingly alarmed by the spread of avian flu. Marsh Risk Consulting offers several online resources to help in understanding, evaluating, and preparing for this emerging threat.
The World Bank estimates an avian flu pandemic could cause $800 billion in economic damage and disrupt virtually the entire world economy. As such, businesses would be well-advised to ensure their emergency-response and business-continuity plans are up-to-date and include specific planning for dealing with a pandemic.
Some of the resources include:
- A Business Continuity Preparedness Survey
- Risk Alert – Avian Flu: Preparing for a Pandemic
- New Reality of Risk Panel Discussion — Preparing for a Pandemic
- At Risk — Business Health Could Suffer from Avian Flu
- A Comprehensive Approach for Assessing and Preparing for an Avian Flu Pandemic
- Preparing Employers and Employees for an Avian Flu Pandemic
- Recommended Links to Major Government and NGO Web Sites
www.marshriskconsulting.com/st/PDEv_C_371_SC_228136_NR_306_PI_771348.htm
Companies Preparing for Avian Flu across the Globe, Survey says
A new survey by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, a global human capital firm, says multinational companies are taking steps in many parts of the world to plan for the possibility of an avian flu outbreak.
The survey of 90 multinational companies found 52 percent of companies operating in Asia-Pacific are considering putting programs in place in that region to deal with the avian flu. Forty-eight percent of US companies are considering such plans, as are 47 percent in Europe, 44 percent in Latin America and 42 percent in Canada.
Companies are much more likely to already have plans in place (32 percent) in Asia-Pacific to deal with the effects of the avian flu. Only 15 percent have plans in place in the United States, 11 percent in Europe, 10 percent in Canada and nine percent in Latin America. In addition, about one in five companies is not at all concerned about the avian flu.
www.watsonwyatt.com/news/press.asp?ID=15840
Avian Flu Threat Shakes Doctors' Confidence
A new survey has found more than half of the nation’s physicians don’t think the government can manage a flu pandemic, and 91 percent say there aren’t enough anti-viral medications to go around.
The new survey by Pri-Med Research polled primary care clinicians across the US and found that two-thirds of physicians are concerned about the threat of an avian flu pandemic striking the country. Less than one in five primary care practitioners said they believe they are adequately equipped to treat patients infected with the flu.
According to Pri-Med, the survey also found that more than half of respondents have “little or no confidence in the government's ability to manage a flu pandemic at the local, state, federal or international level.” A “substantial majority” of respondents say they would rely on the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and their local public health authorities for guidance in responding to any outbreak.
www.pri-med.com/insightresearch
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