Pandemic Planning For Business

Credit TFAH It's Not Flu As Usual Brochure

 

 

# 7455

 

Six years ago, before the H1N1 pandemic emerged in 2009, we were carefully monitoring the H5N1 threat while governments, agencies, and businesses actively prepared for a severe pandemic.

 

As States and Federal agencies drilled and prepared, the HHS released guidance to local governments, individuals and businesses on how to prepare for `the next pandemic’.

 

A small sampling includes:

 

Guidance for Employers

• Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for an Influenza Pandemic (Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA))
• Business Pandemic Influenza Planning Checklist (PDF – 151 KB)
  Lista de Preparacion en Empresas para una
• Pandemia de Gripe (PDF – 276 KB)
• Pandemic Preparedness Planning for US Businesses with Overseas Operations (PDF – 3.03 MB)
• Interim Pre-Pandemic Planning Guidance: Community Strategy for Pandemic Influenza Mitigation in the United States (PDF – 718 KB) (CDC)
• Considerations for Antiviral Drug Stockpiling by Employers in Preparation for an Influenza Pandemic (PDF – 497 KB)
• Interim Guidance on Environmental Management of Pandemic Influenza Virus
  Learn more about how to clean and protect surfaces from the influenza virus.

 

When the pandemic finally arrived, it turned out to due to a less severe strain of Swine flu; H1N1.   We got `lucky’ in that we ended up with a `Cat 1’ pandemic, not the feared Category 5 event that most plans had envisioned.

 

 

Since the end of 2009 - between the prolonged economic downturn and the belief that we’d seen `our pandemic’, and another would not likely occur for decades – pandemic preparedness for many businesses has been put on the back burner. 

Many of the carefully prepared pandemic plans drafted in 2006 or 2007 are now gathering dust in some desk drawer, and have not been reviewed or updated for years.

 

No one can predict when, how severe, or what virus will spark the next pandemic.  But the risks of seeing a severe pandemic have not diminished. With three legitimate pandemic `worries’ out there (H5N1, H7N9, MERS-CoV) – if anything, they’ve escalated

 

Making this an opportune time to drag out, dust off, and take a hard look at your old pandemic plans (or create a new one if need be).

 

One of the nation’s leaders in pandemic and disaster planning is Public Health - Seattle & King County.  In 2008 they produced a 20 minute film called Business Not As Usual, designed to help introduce businesses to the core concepts of pandemic planning.

 

Frankly, this video should be required viewing for every businesses owner, manager, and employee.

 

You’ll also find a long list of preparedness resources available on this page as well:

General resources:

• Business Not As Usual: Video User Guide
• Go-Kits checklist (available in multiple languages). Go-Kits are emergency kits to pack in advance, you just pick up a kit and GO!
• Planning Checklist
• Stopping the Spread of Germs at Work

Business and government preparedness:

• Business Pandemic Influenza Planning Checklist
• Continuity of government issues that should be addressed by local agencies
• It's Not Flu As Usual Brochure
• Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for an Influenza Pandemic
• Preventing the Spread of Influenza
• Guidance for employers on returning to work after influenza illness

Community Based Organization (CBO) preparedness:

• 9 Small Steps that Reap HUGE Rewards
• Business Continuity Template
• CARD Agency Emergency Plan
• It's Not Flu As Usual Brochure
• Pandemic Influenza Emergency Response Manual
• Preventing the Spread of Influenza
• Guidance for employers on returning to work after influenza illness

Personal preparedness:

• Family Health Information Sheet
• How to care for someone with influenza
• Pandemic Flu Planning Checklist for Individuals and Families
• Your Personal Go-Kit

 

While another pandemic may not come for years, if you and your business are well prepared to deal with a Cat 4 or 5 pandemic, you are pretty much ready to deal with any disaster.

 

And as bitter experience has shown, earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, industrial accidents, and even terrorist attacks can, and do happen with some frequency.

 

Often, the difference between a business surviving a disaster – or going bankrupt - boils down to how well their emergency and recovery plans were designed and implemented.

 

For more on  disaster preparedness, I would invite you to visit Ready.gov, FEMA,  or revisit these blogs:

 

In An Emergency, Who Has Your Back?

When 72 Hours Isn’t Enough

The Gift of Preparedness 2012

The Ripple Effect

 

 

# 5657

 

 

In a bit of a follow up to yesterday’s blog OECD Report: Future Global Shocks and one from last week called Estimating The Economic Impact Of A San Andreas Quake we’ve a report out of New Zealand (h/t Sally Furniss, Managing Editor of FluTrackers) on the nationwide economic impact of the three recent Christchurch earthquakes.

 

The article, by Marta Steeman of BusinessDay.co.nz, describes how 2/3rds of all businesses in New Zealand have been economically impacted by these quakes – even those well beyond the damaged areas.

 

Quakes affect two-thirds of NZ businesses

MARTA STEEMAN

Last updated 11:22 28/06/2011

The September and February earthquakes have affected nearly two-thirds of New Zealand businesses, according to a 2011 Grant Thornton international survey.

 

The survey indicated 18 per cent of businesses had suffered long-term impacts, 26 per cent medium-term impacts and 20 per cent a short-term hit.

(Continue . . . )

 

 

Businesses in Christchurch, at the center of the quake damage, are the most severely affected with 18% of business establishments destroyed.  Half of businesses cited a fall in demand for their goods and services as being the most significant impact.

 

Another concern - as we saw in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina – is that many skilled workers have left the Christchurch area since the quakes, further hindering the recovery.

 

But the repercussions have been felt across New Zealand.

 

While not in the category of a `future global shock’, the Christchurch quakes demonstrate how a local disaster can economically impact a much larger area.

 

Just as individuals and families need to be prepared for the immediate impact of a disaster, businesses need to have a robust and practical disaster plan that will keep them functioning during, or shortly after, a crisis.

 

While fortune 500 companies spend big bucks on disaster preparedness and recovery, Small businesses – those with fewer than 20 employees – make up nearly 90% of the companies (that have employees) in the United States.  

 

In 2004 they numbered over 5.2 million firms, which employed nearly 25 million people.In addition, there are nearly 22 million non-employer firms (as of 2007) – essentially self-employed individuals.

 

And these are the business enterprises that are the least likely to be prepared for a local, or global, disaster.

 

Ready.gov, the Small Business Administration,  and the American Red Cross are just a few of the agencies working to help small businesses prepare to survive the next disaster.

 

If you value your job, or your business, you owe it to yourself, and your employees to visit:

And

 

And to avail yourself of the free 123 point assessment survey at the American Red Cross’s Ready Rating Program.

 

 

And of course, National Preparedness Month isn’t just for agencies, families, and individuals.

 

It is for businesses as well.

 

 

Like death and taxes, disasters are inevitable. 

 

We may not always be able to prevent them, but we can be better prepared to deal with them when they happen.  

And that can make all the difference whether your business ultimately survives or fails.

DHS: New Guidance for Small Business

 

 

# 3734

 

 

I suspect one of the big reasons why more companies – particularly small businesses – haven’t put together a pandemic plan is that the task seemed too daunting.

 

Where do you even begin?

 

The Department of Homeland Security has come out with a very basic 10-page guidebook on preparing for the novel H1N1 pandemic flu.    This guidance is optimized for a moderate pandemic, such as is expected this winter, and not the more severe scenario that H5N1 might someday present.

 

You can either download the PDF or read the Text Version available on Flu.Gov.

 

The list of MORE RESOURCES at the end of the pamphlet is extensive, and points to more detailed planning advice, which most companies would be well advised to explore.

 

Planning for 2009 H1N1 Influenza: A Preparedness Guide for Small Business

Table of Contents

• Foreword
• Introduction
• How to Write Your Plan
• Keeping Healthy: 10 Tips for Businesses
• Keeping Healthy: 8 Tips for Individuals
• Frequently Asked Questions
• More Resources

Printable Version (PDF – 3.74 MB)

 

 

Small business disaster planning is a subject we’ve covered repeatedly in these pages, and has long been neglected by many small companies. 

 

Whether it is this winter’s pandemic, or the next hurricane, flood, earthquake, or other crisis, you should be preparing as if your company’s life depended on it.

 

A couple of my earlier blogs that business owners might find of particular interest are:

 

Quick! Who's Your CPO?

OSHA On Protecting Employees In A Pandemic

 

And of course, next week CIDRAP Business Source will be holding an H1N1 summit called : Keeping the World Working During the H1N1 Pandemic.   I’ll be part of one of the breakout sessions.

 

I hope to see you there.