Getting Sanitized At Calvin

December 15, 2006 == MEDIA ADVISORY

Calvin College students returning from Christmas break in January will have a
surprise waiting for them, one intended to lessen the impact of cold and flu
season.

Between December 18 and December 22 college maintenance staff plan to install
100 hand sanitizing units across the campus, in everything from computer labs
to cafeteria lines.

The units are touch-free and dispense a foam-based, alcohol hand sanitizer
from Purell.

They come after the Calvin College Pandemic Influenza Assessment Team met with
folks from the Kent County Health Department and heard from the County about
the effectiveness of such units, especially in high-traffic areas where access
to soap and water is apt to be limited.

Says Calvin's Pat Buist: "Our plan is to place them in areas where people
handle objects that are touched by many other people, such as computer
components, telephones and exercise equipment, but where washing with soap and
water is not convenient. They are also being placed near food lines to
encourage people to clean their hands before eating."

And while the 100 units will be a very visible reminder about the importance
of clean hands in preventing the spread of germs, Buist says the effort is just
one prong in a multi-pronged approach on campus that has education at its
center.

"These units," says Buist, "are being installed in conjunction with education
about how flu and colds are spread. Our goal is to cut down the spread of flu
this season. Anything we can do now, before a pandemic influenza emerges, will
help prepare our campus community to limit the spread of an even more virulent
flu virus later."

Contact Pat Buist, Environmental Health & Occupational Safety Officer, at
616-526-8591

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Received on Fri Dec 15 01:00:33 2006