Effects of H1N1 Weighed in Gloucester County Seminar

Andrew Yurchuck says he cannot afford for any of his employees to miss a day's work.

And the Monroe Township businessman owner of Bio-clean of New Jersey is willing to pay cold hard cash to back up that claim.

Yurchuck has offered his workers $25 to stand in line for Gloucester County's free flu shot program.

"Four hundred in outlay to keep revenues rolling is a bargain," Yurchuck suggested. "It is a bargain."

It also apparently is not a deal maker for some.

Yurchuck observed Wednesday during a H1N1 seminar sponsored by the Gloucester County Chamber of Commerce that every one of his senior managers took advantage of the offer.

Most of his front line men those who respond to clean up accident scenes and places where bio-hazards are present did not.

"I could not pay them," Yurchuck said.

Others should be as prepared to deal with the effects of seasonal flu and the potential effects of the H1N1 virus, seminar panelists suggested during the event at Gloucester County College in Deptford Township.

H1N1 swine flu to many has been declared to be everything from a global pandemic to something overly-hyped by the media.

That said, businesses large and small should at least examine their structure to gauge what impact such an outbreak would have on them, suggested Stevan Wolf of North Star Business Consultants.

"Can this put you out of business?" Wolf asked, pausing before answering his own question. "Absolutely."

Can your employees work from home? If one or more of your suppliers suddenly see 40 percent of their workforce out with the H1N1 flu, what happens to your business if you cannot receive the materials you need? What information do employees need?

They were some of the questions Wolf raised.

No, there is not one stock plan for a business to develop, he offered.

There is also an opportunity to generate new business, Wolf said.

An organized plan "may be a selling point. Your customers know you can deliver regardless."

Businesses would best serve their workers by making available as much information as possible, Underwood-Memorial Hospital family physician Dr. Gregory Herman said. The Centers for Disease Control Web site www.cdc.gov is tops for information, he said.

Workers can prepare themselves through proper nutrition and hydration when they begin to feel less than normal.

"That cannot be overemphasized," Herman asserted. "We tend to blow it off."

Gloucester County's flu hotline (856) 218-4141 has received 4,000 calls thus far, said Carla Kephart, health educator for the Gloucester County Department of Health.

In preparing for either an H1N1 outbreak or a strain of the seasonal flu that seems to be resistant to even what a flu shot is designed to combat, it helps to keep everyone involved, suggested James Shew, director of emergency services for the Gloucester County chapter of the American Red Cross.

By addressing children, they will "feel more secure and less anxious" especially since much of the focus on immunization is on the young, Shew said.

He had one point of emphasis that could seem out of place given the seriousness of a pandemic.

"Keep a sense of humor," he offered.

Why?

It helps reduce personal stress.

Yurchuck is keeping his personal stress level down even though his employees are rejecting the notion to get a flu shot.

He has personally been to five flu shot clinics while family members have gotten their shots.

And, the offer for $25 in exchange for a flu shot still stands for his workers. All they have to do is come back with the sample of hand sanitizer that is handed out at the clinics.

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