Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response Plan
Develop Flexibility in the Plan
Develop flexible IDPR Plan policies for employees. Include the following:
- During an outbreak, require sick employees to stay at home.
Inform everyone about policies.
- Ensure that sick leave policies are flexible and that employees are aware of these policies.
- Talk with temporary employee providers about the importance of sick employees staying home and encourage them to develop non-punitive leave policies.
- Do not require a healthcare provider's note for employees who are sick with acute respiratory illness to validate their illness or to return to work.
- Maintain flexible policies that permit employees to stay home to care for a sick family member.
- Recognize that workers with ill family members may need to stay home to care for them.
- Be aware of workers' concerns about pay, leave, safety, health, and other issues. Provide adequate information and training about business-essential job functions, proper hygiene practices, and the use of any exposure controls.
- Work with insurance companies and public health agencies to provide information to workers and customers about medical care in the event of an outbreak.
Once the Plan is Developed
After the IDPR Plan has been developed, the work is not yet done. You can help make sure the plan is effective by taking the following actions:
- Ensure the plan is flexible and involve your employees in developing and reviewing your plan.
- Conduct an exercise to discover ahead of time if the plan has gaps or problems that need to be corrected.
- Prepare a checklist containing all essential steps, actions, and responsible persons.
- Tell employees what human resources policies, workplace and leave flexibilities, and pay and benefits will be available to them.
- Share best practices with other businesses in your communities (especially those in your supply chain), chambers of commerce, and associations to improve community response efforts.
- Utah Dept. of Health Infectious Disease Emergency Response Plan
- Infectious Disease Emergency Response Plan - SFDPH
- Univ. of Texas Emergency Operations Plan Annex I - Infectious Disease
- SOG Sample Infectious Disease Exposure Control Plan
- Sample Policy for Emergent Infectious Diseases for Skilled Nursing Care Centers
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
1-8. What is recommended to make sure gaps in the IDPR Plan are discovered before an actual infectious disease outbreak occurs?
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