It's almost time for winter break, and many students will leave their college campuses and travel abroad for vacations or to be with their families and friends. While most students will remain healthy upon their return to school, some may have been exposed to infectious diseases which are uncommon in the United States. It's important to consider the potential for communicable disease outbreaks post-winter break, and to act prudently in order to preserve public safety.

In March, NASPA will publish a crisis management and prevention book titled, Responding from the Heart: A Personal Approach to Crisis Management, which brings together strategies for responding to and managing different types of crises and their practical applications. The following are recommendations on preparing for and managing a communicable disease outbreak from a chapter on the topic written by Lora L. Jasman, Director of Student Health Services at Oregon State University, and Larry D. Roper, Vice Provost for Student Affairs at Oregon State University.

1. Create an ongoing effective response team that is prepared to handle an infectious disease outbreak
2. Make basic agreements in advance about how decisions will be made and which university officials will be in charge of the response team. Try to create a communication system in which multiple levels of individuals are responsible for thinking about the big picture. Relying solely on a single individual, such as the director or medical director of the student health service to prompt a communicable disease crisis response could be problematic.
3. Develop methods for timely and consistent communication within the team. E-mail, conference calls, and daily meetings can be useful tools for updating all members of the response team. This will help ensure adequate patient care, clear communications, coordinated planning, and consistent information release, as well as promote teamwork and a sense of trust and support within the team. Be sure to exchange business, home, and cell-phone numbers of all team members in order to communicate after hours or on weekends.
4. Assign one member of the response team to act as the media contact point, preferably someone with previous risk communication experience. This person should be prepared to ease any outrage or concern from the public regarding communicable disease risk.
5. Be sure that health care providers are asking students about recent international travel and associated exposures when students develop illnesses after arrival back in the United States.
6. Stay in contact with the local health department, health care providers, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Consultation with state or national experts is recommended and can be extremely useful, but final decisions are best made locally.
7. Remain committed to protecting confidentiality for the individuals involved, despite pressure to give out information.

Check back for a link to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Pandemic Management checklist, which will be released soon.