WASHINGTON -- To help businesses develop specific plans to protect employees and maintain operations during a pandemic, the U.S. government has released a "Business Pandemic Influenza Checklist."
Health & Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez presented the checklist at a Business Roundtable meeting here Dec. 7 with chief executive officers of leading companies.
The new checklist identifies specific activities that companies can do now to prepare for a pandemic and will also be helpful in other types of emergencies. Developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the checklist suggests companies plan how they would forecast employee absences during a pandemic; disseminate information to employees; establish flexible work sites; and establish policies for employees who have been exposed, are suspected to be ill or become ill at the worksite. Activities are broken into broader categories for action, including:
Plan for the impact of a pandemic on a business;
Plan for the impact of a pandemic on employees and customers;
Establishment of policies to be implemented during a pandemic;
Allocation of resources to protect employees and customers during a pandemic;
Communication and education to employees; and
Coordination with external organizations and communities.
Leavitt has also met with senior officials from all 50 states to begin preparing for a series of in-state pandemic-planning summits to be held in every state over the next several months. He has issued a "State and Local Health Department Planning Checklist for Public Health Roles and Responsibilities." It summarizes key planning activities to be undertaken by the public health system of each state in collaboration with partners. Additional checklists to help families, schools, the travel industry and faith-based and community organizations increase their preparedness will be issued in coming weeks.
A copy of the business checklist and other pandemic planning information is available online at http://www.pandemicflu.gov.
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