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Emergency plan aims to keep students safe from pandemics

February 22, 2012

From severe weather to disease outbreaks, MSU’s emergency operations plan is an evolving set of procedures officials are using to react to life-threatening situations.

The meningococcal disease that recently took the life of family community services sophomore Carly Glynn was an isolated incident, not an outbreak to prompt widespread action, university spokesman Kent Cassella said. However, he said a plan is in place if a more prevalent public health incident arises.

“MSU is a small city, and you have to be prepared in emergency situations to make critical decisions quickly,” he said.

Officials conducted an illness test in 2010 at the College of Human Medicine’s Secchia Center in Grand Rapids to simulate what would occur if an illness broke out in a large student population, Cassella said.

He added that with any exercise and during the real event, the situation first starts at MSU and then escalates to higher authorities to control and prevent the illness from spreading.

In an on-campus illness emergency, the Ingham County Health Department would take the lead for MSU and Olin Health Center officials as the emergency deals with a matter of public health, he said.

“We’ve been working together for many years, especially since 9/11 … and developed a close relationship,” said Susan Mcintosh McPhail, emergency preparedness coordinator with the county’s health department.

The most recent case of meningococcal disease on campus, although capable of spreading, is not easily communicable, and vaccinations can be given to help prevent most strands of the disease, she said.

In 2009, the H1N1 influenza was deemed a pandemic, and the health department was able to set up mass vaccination sites across the county and on campus, requiring cooperation between multiple organizations, McPhail said.

But for action to be taken and teamwork to occur with health officials and the university, she said the governor must first declare it an emergency, as was the case during the H1N1 incident.

McPhail said it’s necessary to plan and practice for any situation to ensure success if a real emergency were to occur. Communication between departments, organizations and the university was cited by both Cassella and McPhail as room for improvement because there needs to be quick responses to emergency situations.

Interior design junior Bridget Patzer said she’s not worried about any sort of sickness outbreak on campus.

“I’m glad they’re looking out for us,” she said.

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