Five Years After SARS: Pandemic Planning for Businesses
A Report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Speaker: Dr. Lisa Koonin
Senior Advisor, Influenza Coordination Unit, Coordinating Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta Health & Wellness and Human Resources Committee

Businesses have important roles in promoting corporate wellness and preparing for emergencies and public health threats. Scientists at the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strongly believe that it's not IF, but WHEN, a human influenza pandemic will occur. Ms. Koonin, a senior advisor with the CDC, will discuss how emergency planning is a key part of promoting corporate wellness and will focus on the reality of avian influenza hotspots worldwide, the connection between avian flu and a pandemic and will state why the pandemic threat remains undiminished.

Ms. Koonin also will describe new CDC guidance and planning steps for business on "Community Mitigation" interventions, community planning strategies aimed at US community decision-makers and individuals that may help limit the spread of disease during a pandemic. While every government will consider which protective actions to take during a pandemic, businesses will be affected and will play an important role in assuring that their workers are protected and that these guidelines can be followed.

Ms. Koonin serves as Senior Advisor for the CDC's Influenza Coordination Unit, responsible for all aspects of CDC's pandemic influenza preparedness activities. With the CDC since 1987, she has long focused on providing leadership and coordination for partnerships with CDC and business, education, healthcare, federal agencies, and faith-based and community organizations. Ms. Koonin has focused her work in the last five years on building and maintaining partnerships between public health and businesses for improvements in corporate wellness and emergency response. A Family Nurse Practitioner and Epidemiologist with a Masters of Nursing and a Masters of Public Health degree from Emory University, she actively participates in the White House Homeland Security Council's Interagency Private Sector Workgroup on Pandemic Influenza.