Preparing a Comprehensive Pandemic Plan for a University Community

American universities are a major resource for their communities. They often are a major employer; provide an attraction for business and recreational development and housing for thousands of individuals. History also demonstrates that Universities can be greatly impacted by a pandemic. Such institutions provide education for thousands of individuals from around the world. These institutions frequently are engaged in research projects which establish routine business activities in parts of the world even more diverse than the student population. In addition, many of these institutions house health science resources which would provide services and staff in demand during a pandemic.

Nevertheless, despite the potential impact of a pandemic on the university, many institutions are only in the early stages of comprehensive pandemic plan development. Additionally, many of these rudimentary plans are not aligned with their surrounding community or state plans.

This presentation will review the ongoing effort to develop a pandemic plan at the University of Iowa. Additionally, it will describe how information from this process has been refined to provide guidance to other colleges and universities through either the state board of regents or the Centers for Disease Control's Centers for Public Health Preparedness Collaborative. Plan details will be presented describing applications in the areas of health care, public health, continuity of operations and communications. Finally, strategies for the alignment of these plans with the community, Incident Command and National Incident Management System models will also be discussed.