World Health Organization Calls Swine Flu Outbreak a Pandemic

From: http://www.washingtonpost.com

The World Health Organization yesterday declared the seven-week-old outbreak of the novel H1N1 influenza virus a pandemic, marking it as a historic global health event, one whose consequences may not be known for years.

The announcement -- expected for weeks but made with some reluctance -- essentially warns the WHO's 194 member nations to get ready for the new flu strain, which is likely to infect as much as one-third of the population in the first wave and return in later waves that may be more severe. read more here.

While this strain of the flu is still mild, it could mutaute into something more deadly. It is a definite wake-up call to workplaces to prepare a Pandemic Plan. Businesses and organizations need to consider how a pandemic will affect business continuity. How would a business continue day to day operations if much of their workforce were sick?

If your company still does not have a pandemic plan, now is the time to do so. A quick Google search of "Pandemic Preparedness Plan" will result in excellent ideas and tutorials to make the task easier.

Does Your Safety Plan Include a Rubber Duck?

From: http://news.aol.com/article/woman-survives-3-days-in-bathtub/518245/a>

"(June 8) -- A 90-year-old woman spent three days trapped in her bathtub after becoming too weak to pull herself out...

Shirley Madsen, of Walnut Creek, Calif., survived her ordeal by drinking water from a rubber duck with a hole in the bottom.

When Madsen got into the tub on May 27, she forgot to put her phone within reach and could not call for help when she got trapped.

Madsen survived for three days stuck in the bathtub by continually replacing the cooling bath water with fresh water from the tap to stay warm. She also used one of her collection of rubber ducks as a drinking cup to keep hydrated during her confinement.

"I have never been so terrified in my life," Madsen later told the Mercury News.

After three days with no word from their mother, Madsen's two daughters grew concerned. Daughter Diane Weber went to Madsen's home where she found her mother trapped in the bathroom and summoned an ambulance.

Following a three-day hospital stay, Madsen was sent home to recover from minor injuries. She worked out a routine to check in with relatives and is getting a waterproof medical alert device. But Madsen also advocates an easy safety plan: "Get a bunch of rubber duckies and make sure one of them can't swim," she joked.

Read the full story here.

One quote from the original story stuck with me: "We had a routine, but we did not have a plan".

How many companies have a routine, but not a plan?

How many employees stick in an unsafe routine, but there is no safer plan, or there is no definitive training of a safer plan?

How many employers or employees are as resourceful as Shirley Madsen?

Would you want to pin all of your hopes of survival on a rubber ducky?