Featured Content
Pandemic Flu: Business Planning
In the event of pandemic influenza, businesses will play a key role in protecting employees' health and safety as well as limiting the negative impact to the economy and society. Planning for pandemic influenza is critical. Companies that provide critical infrastructure services, such as power and telecommunications, also have a special responsibility to plan for continued operation in a crisis and should plan accordingly. As with any catastrophe, having a contingency plan is essential.
Fast Facts
- A flu pandemic could last for a year or more, infecting up to one-third of the population of the United States.
- Despite all preparedness efforts, Sonoma County will not be spared from a flu pandemic.
- All businesses, hospitals and government agencies will feel the effects of a pandemic.
- Ten to 25 percent of your workforce may be ill at any one time.
- Unlike other disasters, a flu pandemic will touch every population in every part of the country. Moving operations to another location may not be a viable option.
A flu pandemic could cost the U. S. economy billions of dollars in lost productivity and medical expenses. During a pandemic, it will not be business as usual.
In the event of a pandemic, planning by business leaders will be critical to protecting employees' health, limiting the negative economic impact and ensuring the continued delivery of essential services like food, medicine, water and power. Government alone will not be able to provide answers to all of the issues facing society. Businesses of all sizes must engage in pandemic planning of their own and integrating their plans into state and federal efforts. So where do you start? Ask yourself these questions:
- How will you maintain your business operations when 10 to 25 percent of the workforce falls ill at one time?
- How can you adapt your existing continuity of operations plans to reflect this kind of human resources impact?
- How will you cope when the other businesses and suppliers you rely on experience the same absentee rates?
- How will you adapt to disruptions in the supply chain for the raw materials you need and how will you get your product to the consumer if your distribution network is hit with high absentee rates?
- How can existing return-to-work and travel policies be adapted to control the spread of this virus among employees?
- How will you limit the economic impact of a flu pandemic on your business?
These, and many other issues are being grappled with at the national and state levels, but experts agree that it will be the local response efforts that are most taxed by a pandemic.
Workbook for Closed Dispensing Sites
Workbook for businesses that have been selected as locations for closed dispensing sites in Sonoma County.
Business Pandemic Influenza Planning Checklist (pdf)
This guide is designed to help businesses minimize the risk a flu pandemic poses to employees, and their bottom line.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Sonoma County Employers' Coalition on Health
Sonoma County Economic Development Board: Disaster Planning and Recovery
Learn More
Emergency Management Guide For Business & Industry
Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Some documents on this Web Site are saved in Adobe Acrobat format. If you do not own a copy of Acrobat Reader, you may download it for free.
For more information, please contact:
Public Health Preparedness
625 5th Street
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Phone: 707-565-4496
Fax: 707-565-4411