Combatting Swine Flu, Protecting our Community

As Swine Flu has touched our community, health care workers and health care facilities need to take immediate steps to determine if their workplace is ready to manage a swine flu outbreak. 

“As health care professionals, it is our responsibility to the community to ensure healthcare facilities are safe and do not contribute to further spread of the Swine Flu,” stated Dian Palmer, a Registered Nurse and President of the SEIU Wisconsin State Council.

Flu spreads from person to person through the air and by contact with infected surfaces such as telephones and doorknobs.  There are three well-established methods for managing an outbreak of the flu virus:   

1)    Vaccines to prevent catching the flu or to reduce its symptoms; 

2)    Antiviral medications to treat symptoms of flu, and

3)    Implementation of standard infection control procedures to prevent spread of infection.

If more widespread swine flu outbreaks occur in Wisconsin, we will be faced with a huge surge in the numbers of infected patients needing care, health care facilities could have difficulty meeting patient needs.  Most facilities would experience staff shortages, and most would lack space for isolating large numbers of infected patients.

SEIU Wisconsin encourages those in the health care community to come together to create a Swine Flu Response Plan to protect health care workers and members of our community.
 Swine Flu Response Plan Checklist 
 Swine Flu Similarities and Differences
 Using Infection Control