June 24, 2009

TO: ALL UCSF PATIENT CARE EMPLOYEES

FROM: Josh Adler, M.D.

Chief Medical Officer

RE: H1N1 STAFF EXPOSURE

Please read the information below and the documents attached regarding efforts to protect your health and the health of our patients from the H1N1 virus. Please continue to use all recommended infection control practices as described in the attachments and, most importantly, stay home if you feel ill.

Below are a number of actions being taken to respond to health care employees at UCSF Medical Center at Parnassus who may have been exposed to one of several patients with probable influenza H1N1 infection.

15th Floor, Long Wing

All health care workers on 15-Long are required to take post-exposure antiviral medication because you may have been exposed to the virus by an ill patient or co-worker within the past seven days.

§  Occupational Health Services (OHS) screened employees yesterday (Tuesday) and are screening again today (Wednesday) from 1 to 3 p.m. in the unit and providing the antiviral medication Tamiflu. If you work in the unit and miss screenings in the unit, please go to the Parnassus hospital Discharge Lounge, Room M-195, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., today (Wednesday) to Friday to be screened.

§  Employees in the unit who refuse or are not able to take Tamiflu will not be allowed to work until seven days after their most recent exposure and until they have no symptoms. Employees can use vacation or comp time.

Other Hospital Units

If you worked in the following units on the dates listed below, you may have received a letter about a possible exposure. Please follow the instructions in the letter. You also can go to the Discharge Lounge, Room M-195, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., today (Wednesday) to Friday to be screened and receive Tamiflu, instead of calling Occupational Health as instructed in the letter.

If you did not receive a letter and worked in a department below on the dates listed, please ask the manager of the unit or department for a copy of the letter.

ED / June 18
6L / June 18 to 20 (droplet precautions started June 20, 1 a.m.)
9 ICU / June 18
OR & Periop / June 20
Radiology- U/S / June 19
Radiology- Echo / June 16
Nutrition Consult / June 17
Nutrition Consult / June 17 and 19
Social Work Consult / June 18 and 19
Spiritual Care Consult / June 17 and 19
Child Life School consult / June 19

Pediatric Urgent Care – If you work in the Pediatric Urgent Care clinic, please see the exposure definition below. (Your manager can provide additional information about patients in the clinic who may have the H1N1 virus, if necessary.) If you meet the exposure definition, please go to the outreach screening clinic in the Discharge Lounge, Room M-195, from 4 to 8 p.m., today (Wednesday) to Friday.

Exposure Definition

(Applies to all health care workers, including physicians, staff, students and volunteers)

§  Contact within 6 feet of an ill person during the person's infectious period without the use of a mask and eye protection.

§  Contact with ungloved hands with the patient or surfaces within 6 feet of the patient without cleaning hands afterward.

Description of Influenza Virus

§  Influenza symptoms include fever greater than 37.8oC (100oF) and cough, sore throat or nasal congestion.

§  A case is considered infectious from one day prior to symptom onset until seven days after symptom onset. The incubation period can range from one to seven days.

§  Individuals with pregnancy, diabetes, lung, heart, kidney, liver or blood disorders and those who have weakened immune systems caused by medications or the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are considered high risk for influenza. Individuals in the high-risk category should take a preventive antiviral agent such as Tamiflu.

If you have operational or general questions regarding H1N1 exposure, call Occupational Health at 885-7580 or contact:

§  Rita Ogden, manager of Occupational Health Services (OHS), at

§  Tamara Liang, clinical nurse in OHS, at

§  Erin Andersen, nurse practitioner in OHS, at .