Please email me your IRT team members and their contact information (office/cell phone) by Friday, 5/1.

Also, please send me an email when your team has completed the tasks outlined in the memo sent to the GMs yesterday. (I’ve attached it to this email.)

We will have a company-wide conference call with the IRTs early next week.

• Markets should identify a local physician that will treat your employees on a priority basis in the event we have a swine flu outbreak at your stations. Since we have a responsibility to keep our stations on the air and provide emergency information to the community, our programming and engineering staff will require priority treatment. Markets should also identify “free clinics” (usually the local health department) that part-time employees with no insurance can access.
• Please notify me if you have (1) employees that have been to Mexico, (2) employees that call in sick with the flu (3) employees that call in to stay home to care for a family member with the flu. I’m tracking these incidents.
• While not on the list yesterday, markets should also identify a vendor that specializes in professional biological clean-up, in the event an employee is diagnosed with swine flu. If you are in a leased building, your landlord may be a good source for a recommendation. If you are not in a leased building, or your landlord does not have a recommendation, then you will need to research a company. Firms such as ServPro and others provide these services.
• Make sure your employee emergency contact list is complete and emailed to me by tomorrow.

Thank you.

• Sick employees should stay home. Swine flu symptoms vary, but may include coughing, shortness of breath, congestion, fever, headache, etc. Employees developing these symptoms while at work should be sent home immediately.

• Employees who are ill will need to provide a release from a physician prior to returning to work. In general, if a person ran a fever or experienced flu-like symptoms, we should assume they are at risk and should not be allowed to return to work until a physician has cleared them to return.

• Employees returning from Mexico should not be allowed in the station for one week and should work from home. They will need a doctor’s release to return to work.

• Each market should identify a physician (Infectious Disease Specialist, Internist or Family Practitioner) that will agree to see your employees on a priority basis in the event of flu exposure. Contact Noreen if you need assistance with this.

• Each market should have an ample supply of hand cleaner available in all studios, restrooms, and other high-traffic work areas in the building. Liquid hand sanitizer should be located in each control room and operational areas.

• On-air personnel and board operators should sanitize their hands each time they enter the studio. Any common area equipment users (such as those employees using shared computers, for example) should clean their hands before and after using the equipment.

• Microphones should be wiped with a slightly damp anti-bacterial wipe prior to each operator’s duty rotation. This includes all microphones in the studio and production areas. DO NOT spray the microphones as this can damage them but use pre-soaked anti-bacterial wipes that are slightly damp.

• Common areas such as kitchens, restrooms, programming lounges, reception areas, should be wiped down throughout the day. Telephones and receivers should be wiped throughout the day.

• Each market’s Director of Engineering should check operational remote control capability and verify backup systems for studios and transmitters. If repairs are needed, they should be made immediately.

• Each market should immediately update its employee information database. Business managers were asked to do this on Monday, 4/27 and it is due to Noreen by Friday, 5/1.

• If your market does not already have an emergency team in place (many do), you should convene an Incident Response Team (IRT) to coordinate your response to the swine flu situation. We suggest this group be chaired by the GM and include your BM/HR Manager, OM, DOS, DOE, IT Manager, and Webmaster.

• New Item: Markets should also identify a vendor that specializes in professional biological clean-up, in the event an employee is diagnosed with swine flu. If you are in a leased building, your landlord may be a good source for a recommendation. If you are not in a leased building, or your landlord does not have a recommendation, then you will need to research a company. Firms such as ServPro and others provide these services.

• Noreen, Jack, Ken will serve as the Corp IRT. Please feel free to contact any of us if you have questions. The Corp IRT will continue to monitor the situation and update emergency planning as warranted.

Thank you.