Ithaca College

Ithaca College is implementing a Point of Dispensing (POD) exercise for all staff and faculty on Thursday, September 11, 2014 to vaccinate against the seasonal flu. This event is an important part of the College community to be prepared for emergencies.  Whether caused by disease, natural disasters, or a terrorist event, Ithaca College and the College Emergency Response Team (CERT) are committed to quickly responding to any event threatening the public health and safety of its faculty, staff and students.

Recently, IC faculty and staff attended training on how to be prepared to quickly respond to public health emergencies by setting up a Point of Dispensing (POD) for the IC community. A POD is a location where life saving medications, supplies or equipment can be dispensed or distributed.  Should there be a bio-terrorist attack or other disease outbreak, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that communities dispense antibiotics and or vaccines to all members of the community in a 48 hour time period.  

In an effort to rehearse these procedures, IC will hold its first ever POD on September 11, 2014 from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Fitness Center to vaccinate staff and faculty against the seasonal flu.  The POD is designed for all staff and faculty.  Flu shots are being offered to students by appointment at the Hammond Health Center, or at separate student flu shot clinics to be announced at a later date.  This event will be done in partnership with the Tompkins County Department of Health.  Please support your community in our training and preparedness planning efforts as we improve our ability to support you when you need us most.  Your participation will allow us to evaluate our current plan and staffing levels, make revisions as needed, and be better prepared to respond in the event of an actual emergency. 

Please note that the September 11th flu clinic will be the only planned staff and faculty flu clinic for the 2014-2015 academic year.  During this event, all supervisors are encouraged to support faculty and staff participation. Following is a schedule based on faculty and staff locations.  If at all possible, come to the Fitness Center during your assigned time for the flu vaccine.  If the location time does not work for your schedule and you wish to participate, please come any time during 7:00 AM – 12:00 PM.

7:00-9:00 AM ~ Facilities (all shifts), Public Safety, General Services

9:00-9:30 AM ~ Alumni Hall, PRW Center, Dillingham Center

9:30-10:00 AM ~ Job Hall, Muller Chapel, Muller Center, Business/Park Center

10:00-10:30 AM ~ Ceracche, Smiddy Hall, Ctr. For Health Sciences, Hill Center

10:30-11:00 AM ~ Music, Terrace 7 & 13, West Tower, East Tower, Towers Concourse

11:00-11:30 AM ~  Gannett Center, Library, Williams Hall, Ctr for Natural Sciences, Egbert Hall

11:30-12:00 PM ~  Fitness Center, Phillips Hall, Hammond Health Center, Communications/Park, Rothschild Place, A&E Center, Central Services

Please remember the following reasons why getting your flu shot is important: 

• Last year’s flu outbreak was avoidable if everyone had gotten their shot.
• 5% to 20% of the US population gets the flu annually.
• More than 200,000 annually are hospitalized from flu complications.
• Even healthy people can get very sick from the flu.
• You can spread the flu before you even know you are sick.
• It takes 2 weeks to develop antibodies to the flu after the shot.
• The flu shot lasts for the entire flu season!

If you have any questions, please contact Mark Coldren at ext. 4-3853 or Laura Keefe at ext. 4-3205.