As of Monday, November 16, 2009 Moravian College has had 137 students report that they’ve contracted an Influenza-like illness.
Message from Mary Sek, coordinator of Moravian College Health Services:
The Bethlehem Health Bureau will be giving free H1N1 vaccines to anyone who falls into one of the high risk groups listed below. As college students most of you fall into a high risk category because of your age. The clinic will be held on Thursday, November 19th at City Hall which is located at 10 E. Church Street. It will be held from 4 PM to 7 PM. If you have any questions, please give me a call at the Health Center …610-861-1567.
We still plan to give the vaccine here at the college when our supply is mailed to us by the state.
High Risk Categories
- Health Care Workers
- Pregnant Women
- Emergency Medical personnel
- People who are 6 months old to 24 years of age.
- People 25 to 64 years of age who have a weakened immune system, cardiac disease, kidney disease, diabetes, etc.
- Caregivers of infants under 6 months of age.
Update 7: October 12, 2009
STUDENTS - If you've contracted an influenza-like illness, please click here to report your condition to college officials.
Student FAQ (.pdf)
In compliance with the CDC and PaDOH recommendations, Moravian College will strongly encourage students with influenza symptoms to follow “self-isolation” as defined by the CDC guidelines (http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/institutions/toolkit/pdf/questions.pdf), including:
- Students should not attend class or any public gatherings while ill with the flu.
- The College will recommend that students who are symptomatic with the flu and, whose permanent residence is within 100 miles of campus, make reasonable and safe attempts to return home until they are no longer contagious (24 hours after fever returns to normal).
- Students residing further than 100 miles of campus who are able to return safely home are also encouraged to do so.
- The CDC recommends self-isolation until at least 24 hours after fever has resolved without fever-reducing medication.
- For students who have the flu and are unable to go home, the College will assist the student to engage in self-isolation practices to minimize/eliminate their exposure to others as much as possible.
- The student will remain in their residence hall room; pre-packaged meals will be provided for pick-up by a “flu buddy” each day. (The college can assist with meal delivery if necessary, please indicate the need for assistance on the H1N1 webform in AMOS.)
- If a roommate is ill, students may wish to temporarily relocate until their roommate is no longer ill. (The director of housing will attempt to assist any student who wishes to move temporarily because of illness of a roommate. Naturally, such moves will be subject to the constraints of the facilities available. Contact Mr. Christopher Hunt, the director of housing, hunt@moravian.edu).
- Faculty will work with students regarding class attendance, work load and assignments.
- Student Affairs will track and inform the college community regarding the number of suspected cases on campus each week (or daily) as appropriate.
We will continue to distribute information about prevention strategies to all students, staff, and faculty, and will work with academic administrators to ensure that faculty guidelines for class attendance are reviewed to respect the public health prevention mandates. If the H1N1strain that occurs this fall changes better or worse, recommendations will be modified and adjusted accordingly.
ARCHIVE OF PRIOR UPDATES
PREVENTION MEASURES
(from the Center for Disease Control):
1. Avoid close contact.
Avoid close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick too.
2. Stay home when you are sick.
Stay home when you are sick. You will help prevent others from catching
your illness.
3. Cover your mouth and nose.
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. If no tissue is available, sneeze into your upper sleeve or elbow…not your hand. It may prevent those around you from getting sick.
4. Clean your hands.
Washing your hands often and using alcohol-based hand sanitizers will help protect you from germs.
5. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.
6. Practice other good health habits.
Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food.
(from the Center for Disease Control):
The symptoms of H1N1 Flu in people are similar to the symptoms of regular human flu and include the following:
- Fever
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Body aches
- Headaches
- Chills
- Fatigue
Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting associated with H1N1 Flu. In the past, severe illness (pneumonia and respiratory failure) and deaths have been reported with swine flu infection in people. Like seasonal flu, H1N1 Flu may cause a worsening of underlying chronic medical conditions.
SEEKING HELP:
The Moravian College student health center is closed during the May and Summer terms. Students who live locally are encouraged to contact their family physician. All others may either…
- Visit St. Luke’s North Walk-In Center at153 Brodhead Road, Bethlehem (610 954-3000). It is open weekdays between 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. and weekends between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., OR
- Go to the emergency room at St. Luke’s Hospital, 801 Ostrum Street, Bethlehem, which treats emergency cases 24 hours a day.
Students are responsible for fees incurred in either location.
Students who either do not have a car or who are too ill to drive may receive transportation assistance (to either location) from the Department of Campus Safety and Police. In general the Campus Safety office will provide transportation if there is more than one officer on duty at the time of the request; if the patient is able to sit up and is either non contagious or wearing a surgical mask; and if the patient is not suffering from chest pains, head injury, or any injury that may require emergency action while in route. (Campus Police Officers are first responders but not emergency medical technicians.) Campus Safety can be reached at 610-861-1421.
