Governor Donald L. Carcieri today received the report on the State of Rhode Island’s efforts to plan for, and respond to the possibility of an outbreak of pandemic flu. Last month, the Governor charged Dr. David Gifford, the Director of the Rhode Island Department of Health, and Robert J. Warren, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency, to lead the statewide Pandemic Flu Working Group to update Rhode Island’s comprehensive plan to address a potential pandemic flu outbreak.

"Over the last two months, Rhode Island’s Pandemic Flu Working Group has worked diligently to bring our state's plans up to date, and into line with the national strategy," Governor Carcieri said. "As a result of their efforts, Rhode Island is far more prepared today than at any time in the past to deal with a pandemic flu outbreak."

"This report confirms that pandemic flu has the potential to compromise the health of thousands of Rhode Islanders, to strain our health care system to its limits, and to inhibit our ability to provide and maintain essential services at all levels of government and the private sector," Carcieri continued. "But it also provides us with the strategies we need to monitor outbreaks, slow disease transmission, provide health care to infected individuals, inform and educate the public, and continue essential government and private sector services. We will continue to update this plan, assist individual communities with developing local response plans, and educate the public on their critical role in battling a pandemic."

At a State House press conference this morning, Governor Carcieri, Dr. Gifford and Robert Warren briefed the media on the report’s contents, and provided an update on the status of the pandemic flu overseas. During the briefing, state officials emphasized that this report is one step in an ongoing planning process, and that the plans will be continually updated and refined in the coming weeks and months. Carcieri, Gifford and Warren also highlighted the need for strong public participation in efforts to fight a pandemic flu.

The report underscores the potential severity and impact of a possible pandemic in Rhode Island. According to the report, a severe outbreak of pandemic flu could strike up to 300,000 Rhode Islanders over a two month period, causing 150,000 individual doctor’s visits, over 34,000 hospitalizations, and more than 6,600 deaths under a worst case scenario.

The report noted that widespread illness could severely impact every activity in all sectors of society during a pandemic. Up to fifty percent of the workforce might be unable to work as people stay home after falling ill, or care for ill family members or for children whose schools might be closed. Many businesses across the state could close, health care facilities might be overwhelmed with patients as their own workforce was reduced by the flu, and local, state and federal government offices could struggle to continue to provide important services.

The Pandemic Flu Working Group developed four primary goals for responding to and combating a pandemic in Rhode Island. These goals are:

1. Educate, inform, and empower the public before and during an influenza pandemic;
2. Slow and prevent the transmission of disease;
3. Provide needed medical care, and;
4. Continue operations of essential services in government and the private sector.

In their report to the Governor, the Pandemic Flu Working Group identified a number of specific strategies to achieve those goals. These strategies include:

• Utilizing the State Emergency Operations Plan and Emergency Operations Center (EOC) model to organize the emergency response.
• Regionalizing Rhode Island by defining healthcare service regions, and by establishing regional Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) that would be coordinated by the central state EOC.
• Developing plans for continuity of operations (COOP) and continuity of government (COG) for state agencies, cities and towns, and private sector businesses.
• Identifying equipment, supplies, and personnel needed for healthcare response.
• Testing and updating statewide plans on a regular basis.
• Delivering clear, credible, and timely information to the public.

“Through this planning process, EMA, the Health Department, and other members of the Working Group are developing more effective strategies to coordinate with our partners across the state. These relationships strengthen our capacity to respond to pandemic influenza as well as other types of crises,” said Executive Director Warren.

Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt will visit Rhode Island to lead a briefing on pandemic flu preparedness in early January 2006. “Secretary Leavitt’s visit is an opportunity for the state to discuss our strategy and incorporate lessons learned at the national level. We are confident that he will find Rhode Island at the forefront of pandemic influenza planning. This plan is a living document, and will continue to evolve as we learn more about the science around pandemic influenza,” said Dr. Gifford.

The working group includes the directors of the Department of Administration, Department of Environmental Management, Department of Health, Emergency Management Agency, National Guard, Office of Health and Human Services, State Police, and Representative Peter Ginaitt. Other crucial partners in this effort are the hospitals and healthcare community across the state, the Department of Education, and many other state agencies and partners from the private sector.

For more information about the pandemic flu, go to www.health.ri.gov/pandemicflu

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