Businesses brace for flu season: Leave policies, clean hands top companies' lists

As seen in the Gazette
September 2009 - By Chris Huntemann | Staff Writer

As if the recession didn't give business executives enough of a headache, many are now preparing to cope with flu-stricken employees calling in sick over the coming months.

Westat, a Rockville research company, has produced guidelines to help it and its 2,000 employees cope with both H1N1 and seasonal flu, said Terry Barnes, a senior resources generalist and chairwoman of the company's wellness committee.

Besides offering seasonal flu vaccines, installing hand-sanitizer dispensers around the offices and posting fliers detailing proper hand-washing technique, Westat is encouraging sick workers to use sick days to avoid infecting co-workers.

"If they have symptoms we ask them to go home or to not come in," Barnes said.

Barnes was one of dozens of executives who attended a flu preparation seminar for businesses Thursday at Adventist HealthCare in Rockville.

Guarov Dayal, chief medical officer at Adventist HealthCare, which has hospitals in Rockville and Takoma Park, was among the panelists. The key, he said, is prevention: washing hands thoroughly and receiving vaccinations. Seasonal flu vaccinations are available now; swine flu vaccines are expected to be distributed next month.

A recent survey of more than 1,400 organizations on their emergency plans by the Pandemic Prevention Council found that 78.2 percent of public-sector organizations and 71.7 percent of private companies reported business continuity plans to deal with H1N1 flu.

Companies should look at their human resources as well as their existing telework structures to help employees who may need to stay home with a sick child, according to Andrew H. Milne, senior counsel with Garson Claxton, a Bethesda law firm.

Some companies also have mandatory leave policies that require employees to take time off because there is no work for them, Milne said, which may increase the possibility that some employees run out of sick time when they actually fall ill.

Milne said he is unsure of how many companies look at their personnel policies to see if they are adequate for a tough flu season.

Companies should also review their policies to ensure they comply with laws that address sick leave for employees, he said.

The Maryland Flexible Leave Act does not require businesses to provide paid leave, but does require them to allow employees to take earned leave if they or an immediate family member become ill, Milne said in an e-mail.

The law applies to businesses that have 15 or more employees, he said.

Employees at the Association for Financial Professionals in Bethesda often come to work even when they are sick because they feel they have a responsibility to fulfill their duties, said Patrick Culkin, director of human capital at the association.

However, his company is making it known to employees that if they feel ill they should stay home, he said. The company is also creating a contingency plan in case many workers get sick at the same time.

Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase is worried about its members bringing the flu into the club, said Carolyn Rehman, assistant manager at the club.

Reminder signs are posted at the club's numerous hand-washing stations, she said, with hand sanitizers also dispensed throughout the club.

Elyse Kaplan, another panelist at Thursday's seminar who is Adventist HealthCare's vice president of human resources, recommended that companies also look at telecommuting and teleconferencing as a way to help deal with employees who have to stay home sick.

While the ability to weather disruption in the workplace requires a lot more than just teleworking, Milne said, companies should still look at what they can do to help employees work from home if they are able to work.

"It is good for the company and good for the employee," he said.

Druggists getting ready

A workshop next week to help pharmacists prepare for the flu season has been swamped with applications, with 100 druggists planning to attend the session at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy's satellite campus at the Universities at Shady Grove in Rockville.

The workshop was filled within three days of its announcement, and about 200 more pharmacists are on a waiting list, said Lauren Angelo, a clinical assistant professor at the school.

Assistant Dean Heather Congdon said the school initially planned the workshop for the spring, "before anyone had ever heard of swine flu," but it was postponed due to a shortage of funding.

Now that H1N1 is a "hot topic," she said, the school was able to obtain a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to move forward.

Pharmacists play an important role in responding to the H1N1 pandemic, Congdon said. From answering questions from anxious customers to being called on by the state to help with mass vaccination efforts, pharmacists must be prepared for everything.

Angelo said pharmacists are already getting a variety of flu-related questions from a nervous public.

"Pharmacists are really on the front line for patients," Angelo said. "Right now, they're being inundated with questions about not only the seasonal flu, but swine flu and the new vaccine."

Congdon said the workshop will also urge pharmacists to have a contingency plan in case their employees get sick.