OHA launches flu pandemic toolkit for small hospitals
Monday November 12, 2007 -- Natalie Miller
The Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) is launching a toolkit to help the province’s small, rural and northern hospitals plan for a flu pandemic.

The OHA developed the guide in recognition of the fact issues facing smaller hospitals are different than urban health centres. The toolkit was launched during OHA HealthAchieve, a provincial conference in Toronto last week.

The ‘Pandemic Planning Toolkit for Small Rural and Northern Hospitals’ is designed to help the province’s smaller healthcare centres design, write and test a plan to respond to a potential pandemic of influenza.

In the last century, influenza pandemics have killed more than 50 million people worldwide. Historical patterns suggest influenza pandemics can be expected to occur, on average, three to four times each century when new virus subtypes emerge and are readily transmitted from person to person, according to information from the OHA.

In the 20th century, the great flu pandemic of 1918-1919 caused an estimated 20 to 40 million deaths worldwide in the wake of the First World War and was followed by pandemics in 1957 and 1968.

Planning for an influenza pandemic is a priority for healthcare providers worldwide.

For further information regarding pandemic planning, please contact Karen Sequeira at ksequeira@oha.com or 416-205-1328.