Although it’s summertime and the fall flu season seems a long way off, now is the time to review your flu response guidelines and programs in the event of a major flu outbreak. While the potential for a flu pandemic has faded from the headlines, it is a relevant subject. As of July 1, 2009, The US has reported over 27,000 cases and 127 deaths to the World health Organization (http://www.who.int/csr/don/2009_07_01a/en/index.html; Update 56).

Our guest blogger today is Steven Galeotti, ARM, Principal of SRM Consulting, sgaleotti@srmconsulting.net. Steve has over 32 years experience in risk management and risk control consulting with significant expertise in risk assessment and Enterprise Risk Management.  He has developed a methodology for assessing business risk in organizations.  He has made presentations to the National Association of College and University Business Officers, the Risk and Insurance Management Society and other national organizations.

A pandemic, simply stated, is a global outbreak of a disease. In the case of influenza (flu) a pandemic can be caused by the swine (H1N1) or the avian (H5N1) virus. Since 1900 there have been three flu pandemics - 1918-1919, 1957-1958 and 1968-1969 with worldwide deaths estimated at 50 million, 2 million and 700,000, respectively.

Read the press release.  This is a great study show that there is a need for blended learning.

Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning -

As most companies struggle and some companies fail during these tough economic times, it is more important than ever for everyone to concentrate on saving dollars and jobs. Rather than a general decrease your efforts and expenditures toward protecting your workers and facilities, it is much wiser and more practical to gain knowledge in cost saving measures, network with other experts and make each dollar spent return to you in greater savings and effectiveness. An investment of time and treasure should ultimately improve your bottom line, improve the efficiency and moral of your workers and help in the cost effective production of a quality product or service.

As good stewards of the time and treasure entrusted to us, the Georgia Safety, Health and Environmental Conference and the Georgia Employer Committee Annual State Conference have been combined this year. This combination results in an event of major importance for anyone involved in Safety, Human Resources, Health, Workers' Compensation, Risk Management, Environmental, Transportation, Wellness, Industrial Hygiene, Security, Product Distribution, Emergency Planning and more. With over 70 sessions, including OSHA 10 in General Industry and Construction, this conference will provide attendees an outstanding opportunity to choose sessions of maximum benefit to you and your employer. Please share this email with others who may not receive it over the Project Safe Georgia network.

If you are not familiar with the Georgia Employer Committee, please visit their website

http://ga-ec.com/  Employer Committee members are your neighbors and in many cases they work within your own company.

We have not cut back on service or substance. You will see even more improvements and initiatives over past years, even while we have held the line of your registration fees. I encourage you to look over the registration booklet which you may receive in the mail in the next few days. Remember, if you haven't applied for the Award of Excellence, do it right away. The AOE application is found on www.georgiaconference.org . We must receive this before you can be considered for a conference award. Conference award applications will be mailed to AOE recipients on August 1, 2009.

For more inclusive information on conference content and activities, you may open the 24 page Registration Booklet. Be sure to view General and Concurrent Sessions and Speakers, the Agenda, Continuing Education Units, Marriott facts and information on our team building and networking  activities including the Golf Tournament and Silent Auction to benefit Kids' Chance, the Karaoke Contest and the 5K Walk/Run.

This combined conference will definitely be a great experience!

Click the link to open the booklet and let me know if you have questions. JWM

http://www.georgiaec.com/pdf/2009conference/registrationform.pdf

Check out this new book.  If you are into root cause analysis this may be a good reference.  There are no reviews listed on Amazon.  So, if you own this book, please let my readers know what you think.  To purchase this book from Amazon, click here or on the book.

Enjoy!!