Altered Standards of Care

History suggests that influenza pandemics have probably occurred during at least the last four centuries. Since 1900, three pandemics and several "pandemic threats" have occurred at unpredictable intervals and with widely varying severity.

Healthcare professionals will be faced with trying to balance their basic standards of practice; code of ethics to provide care and protect the public from harm; competencies and values with competing obligations to protecting their own health, family and friends and working in an extremely stressful environment where there are too many ill and too few resources. It is in the best interest of the community to address the ethical considerations of such a disaster now in order to establish standards that can be universally applied.

The 85-page “Guidance for Alterations in the Healthcare System During an Influenza Pandemic” document has been drafted and is available for review and comment. Click here to access the two-page executive summary.

A one-hour presentation about this document was provided by PJ Havice from the Colorado Medical Society on December 3, 2008. The presentation slides are available for viewing.

Please contact Marsha Thorson at marsha.thorson@mesacounty.us or 970-248-6976 to receive the full document to participate in this “open for comment” review.

Pandemic Planning

Pandemic Influenza Planning- Medical Office Business Preparedness PDF
(367 kb/21 pages)
July 16, 2007 - Double Tree Hotel

Thea Chase
Assistant Professor of Business
Mesa State College

St. Mary's Hospital 28th Annual Medical Education Symposium PDF
(8.20 mb/234 pages)
May 19, 2007 - Pandemic Influenza Presentations

Dr. Lisa Miller
Dr. William Lockwood
Dr. Michael Aduddell
Sue Kiser

CDC Site Visit to Mesa County Health Department  PDF
(6.10 mb/158 pages)
April 4, 2007 - Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) Presentations

Greg Rajnowski
Nanci Quintana
Rene' Landry
Kristy Emerson
Kimberly Bullen
Sue Kiser
Brad Ferguson
Dean Havlik
Diann Rice
John Howard
Danace Arthur