Red Cross continues fight against H1N1

The American Red Cross continues efforts to help you prepare for, prevent and fight the H1N1 (swine flu) virus.

In October Sharon Stanley, chief nurse of the Red Cross, advised the public to get the flu vaccinations.

“It is a three step process,” said Stanley. “Get vaccinated, stop the spread with basic hygiene and stay home if sick. Make sure you and your loved ones are vaccinated this flu season.”

As the H1N1 virus began to spread across the nation, the Red Cross offered tips on caring for someone with the flu. A late October Red Cross survey showed women take the virus more seriously than men when it comes to taking the necessary steps to prevent infection.

Businesses and schools need to be prepared to operate in case of outbreak among employees, students or faculty members. The Red Cross chapter in Cincinnati, OH conducted an H1N1 drill to test operational capabilities in case of an outbreak.

Ron Hakes, director of emergency services for the Cincinnati chapter, said it’s important to sustain operation with a loss of at least 30 percent of staff to H1N1. It is also important for businesses to have a plan to protect remaining staff from exposure and infection.

“The purpose was to test ourselves,” Hakes said. “It was to shock our system to see if we could sustain ourselves with the loss of that much staff. It is a great experience for all businesses to try this to be sure they are prepared to support key staff members.”

The American Red Cross continues to do all they can to inform people about what they should do. H1N1 is happening and their focus is completely on preparedness.

“We need to make sure that we prepare our public as much as possible for more cases,” said Hakes. “We learned we can sustain ourselves and support our communities.”

According to Nikki Williams, Cincinnati chapter communications specialist, businesses and schools have to consider how a pandemic will affect their operations.

“The Red Cross wants to be at the forefront and show businesses how they can prepare if something like this happens,” said Williams.