Preventing and Handling Influenza at Workshops
Each January there is a workshop for RC teachers and leaders on the west coast of the United States. January in this region is “flu season”; it’s when the influenza virus is most prevalent in the general population. The flu is usually a short-term illness, but it can be serious for people who have additional challenges to their immune systems. For several years in succession, people would arrive at the workshop sick, become sick during the workshop, or get sick afterward.
I wanted to see what we could we do to limit the impact of the flu on this workshop. So four years ago I began leading a “health committee” for the workshop. Our job has been to help people reduce contagion and handle things when someone becomes sick, or suspects they are becoming sick, at the workshop.
For the past three years we have had no active flu cases during the workshop.
WHAT OUR COMMITTEE DOES
It is challenging to reduce the transmission of viruses at RC workshops. Co-Counselors like being close together. We hold hands and hug. Our noses run when we discharge, and we often rub our faces with our hands when we cry. All these things increase the likelihood of viruses spreading from hand to eye, or hand to nose—the most common modes of transmission.
OUR COMMITTEE TAKES THE FOLLOWING STEPS:
1) We establish a workshop “health committee.” This committee has six to eight members and is led by someone who’s had experience handling difficult issues related to health and distress. Six to eight members are needed, to be able to handle multiple issues at once.
2) An RC physician or other health professional partners with the person leading the committee. The physician or other health professional is an advisor and a consultant, not a committee member. This protects them from being unawarely sought out for medical advice and attention.
3) Two months before the workshop, we send a letter to the potential participants with advice about what to do if they become sick (with a fever, chills, body aches, congestion) in advance of the workshop. We ask that they not attend the workshop unless they have been free of the symptoms for forty-eight hours before they are scheduled to depart. We also recommend that people get a “flu shot” (flu vaccine) at least two weeks prior to the workshop.
We explain that these things are to protect the more vulnerable participants, and we encourage people to prioritize the health of the “herd” over individual feelings and convenience.
The letter also says what people should do if they suspect that they are becoming sick at the workshop and what will be done if they do become sick. If they suspect they are becoming sick, they should contact the head of the health committee, who, in consultation with the health professional, will assess the situation and think with them about next steps. If there’s a reasonable chance that they are sick, they’ll be quarantined at the site until they have been fever-free for twenty-four hours (meals and fluids will be delivered to them).
4) The committee purchases an abundance of scent-free hand sanitizers and repeatedly reminds the workshop participants to clean their hands with them before and after contact throughout the workshop. (A “healthy dose” of humor has been helpful here!)
5) We set aside two rooms in advance for quarantine purposes (one for men, and one for women), so if someone becomes sick, they can be moved into one of these rooms. (It’s best if there’s an adjacent or nearby bathroom that can be used exclusively by the sick person.)
6) When someone becomes sick, the committee organizes people to move that person out of their sleeping room and sanitize the room by wiping down contact surfaces with a mild bleach-and-water solution.
7) The committee reminds people not to visit anyone who is in quarantine (humor is also helpful here). People tend to feel sympathetic and want to “keep the person company.” The committee encourages them to contact the person via a web interface—which is much less likely to produce an additional sick person!
It can be hard to reach consensus on intelligent and reasonable steps for reducing contagion at workshops, but the above appear to be working.
TAKING EARLY HURTS INTO ACCOUNT
Our early hurts affect not only our ability to think about ourselves but also to notice and think about our impact on others. Having people at the workshop whose job is to put attention on this seems to help.
We all have undischarged feelings about “missing out” [not having access to something important], “being left on our own [alone],” or “wasting people’s time” when we become sick. In the past we may have gone to or remained at workshops despite having symptoms, because we didn’t want to “miss out.” We are much less likely to do this if there are clear recommendations and a plan.
ADDITIONAL SUGGESTIONS
Here are some additional things that we have found helpful:
- Make hand sanitizers “overly available.” The more visible and close by they are, the more often people will use them. Pump dispensers are far better than squeeze bottles or sprays. Also, the sanitizer solution must be a minimum of sixty-two percent alcohol (or 0.1 percent benzalkonium) to be effective.
- There are many fun ways to help people notice and use the hand sanitizers. This past January we tried taping them to the inside of doors, handing them from person to person once people were seated, and having volunteers greet people as they came into the meeting room with big smiles and a “hello” while squirting sanitizer into their hands. People laughed and were reminded that we were trying to think about something that we hadn’t thought well about in the past.
- It’s good to remind people at the end of each class to pick up all the used tissues and throw them out immediately—and then use the hand sanitizer!
- It helps to get people laughing about getting sick. (We all have undischarged feelings from past experiences.) We have used the term “contagion czar” instead of “health committee chair.”
- People need to understand that when someone is quarantined, they don’t have to worry that the person is alone. Quarantine is necessary to protect the larger group. And it won’t be the first time the person has been left alone! They will likely survive! Also, phone and Skype sessions are still possible.
- It’s useful to have a box of health committee supplies: a thermometer, and alcohol swabs for sterilizing it; (way too much) hand sanitizer—enough for many places in workshop site, including the meeting area and residence buildings; bleach wipes for cleaning contact surfaces; disposable latex or rubber gloves; and surgical masks for people who are sick and the people who are interacting with them.
Seattle, Washington, USA