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September 9, 2009
August 28, 2009
Dear Trinity Students and Families:
With the new academic year fast approaching and the media abuzz with dire predictions about the HIN1 flu, I wanted to let you know how we have been preparing here at Trinity. We are carefully monitoring the incidence of the virus and taking our main cues from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Connecticut Department of Public Health. We have also continued to participate in information and training sessions and to work with our local consortia of colleges and universities to share best practices.
Prevention and Education
Our immediate efforts will be directed toward preventative hygiene by educating members of the College community about hygiene and initiating good habits that will keep the virus from spreading. We will be making hand sanitizers available at numerous locations on campus and posting health advisories and alerts regularly on the Web and other prominent places on campus to ensure that everyone understands the importance of practicing prevention and recognizes the symptoms of the virus. We will stress the importance of having symptoms checked by the professionals at the Health Center.
Vaccine
As you have probably learned from newspapers, television, and the Internet, researchers hope to have a vaccine to combat the HIN1 flu available in October. If and when it becomes available to us, we will do everything in our power to secure doses for our population. We will offer the seasonal flu vaccine as we have in years past. We anticipate getting the seasonal flu vaccines in October and we will hold a well-publicized flu clinic and encourage anyone who has not gotten a flu shot to drop in and get one then.
Isolation
The next stage of our planning has focused on responding to illness on campus. Should a member of this community become ill with flu-like symptoms, we will require social isolation until that individual has been without the symptoms identified in the CDC guidelines for at least 24 hours. The length of time for isolation will vary but generally ranges from three to seven days. This will mean asking staff who contract the HIN1 flu to stay home, and it means recommending that students who live or have family or friends within a reasonable travel distance go to those homes. We will help make isolation arrangements on campus for students who do not have a nearby home to which they can go. In all cases, we will work with students and their instructors to help students keep up with their course work.
We have also made plans for limiting large social events, athletic contests, or other public activities if conditions warrant. These decisions will be informed by updates coming out of the CDC and will be made in accordance with the circumstances as we know them at the time.
Steps You Can Take
As you prepare for your son’s or daughter’s return, it is a good idea to reinforce the importance of prevention and paying attention to signals that may indicate illness. We recommend that students bring to campus a digital thermometer and some alcohol-based hand sanitizer. If your student is currently ill with flu-like symptoms, please keep him or her at home and let my office know he or she will be returning late so we can notify instructors.
For those of you who want to stay informed about conditions on campus, we will post periodic updates on the College Website (www.trincoll.edu/safety.) For more facts about the H1N1 virus and how it is advancing in Connecticut, you can consult www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu or www.ct.gov/ctfluwatch.
Thank you all for your effort to keep all members of the Trinity community in good health. Although we can’t eliminate the spread of the virus, our collective efforts can significantly minimize its reach and impact on campus.
Sincerely.
Frederick Alford
Dean of Students
If you have any questions please email Martha O'Brien.
For more information, visit:
we will post periodic updates on the College Website (www.trincoll.edu/safety.)
• CDC Swine Flu website: www.cdc.gov/swineflu
• World Health Organization: www.who.int
• State of CT Dept. of Public Health: www.ct.gov/dph
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