Important Influenza Correction

 

Dear Parents and Families:

 

I want to take a moment to clear up an important misperception that may have occurred in recent news coverage of influenza at CSU.

 

All fee paying students are welcome to use the CSU Health Network and seek medical services at the Hartshorn Health Center. Students may make their own decisions regarding their desire to be seen by a medical professional.   Students in any high risk health category should be seen at Hartshorn if they have flu-like symptoms. Students that are comfortable “riding it out” at home, and do not feel a need to be seen by a medical professional, are encouraged to do so.  

 

The online flu self-reporting system was designed to give students the ability to notify their professors that they believe that they are ill with influenza. The link to the system is available on Ramweb. As a result, students with flu-like symptoms do not have to go to Hartshorn in order to have their illness verified. CSU has asked students to self isolate when they are ill with flu-like symptoms. Isolation means to stay home and not go to class or out in public until 24 hours after the fever has broken.   When the fever has broken and the student is ready to return to class they should log in and report themselves “well” on the website. 

 

We have been tracking the number of students reporting flu-like symptoms on the web and those seeking medical attention at Hartshorn. 

 

To date there have been 470 students reporting illness on the website. The number of cases still reporting as active in that system is 254. Active means that those students are currently ill or have not yet notified the system that they are now well.   These totals will continue to fluctuate day by day. 

 

A total of 129 students have been seen at Hartshorn Health Center with probable influenza since August 25, 2009. 

 

One of the errors recently reported is that more than 500 students sought care last Wednesday related to the flu. The CSU Health Network includes a very busy ambulatory care health center and we routinely see hundreds of students per day for all kinds of reasons. We did see 500 students on that particular day but only about a dozen related to probable flu. 

 

Please be assured that your son or daughter will continue to have access to medical care and it will be up to them to decide if they want to be seen at the Health Center. 

 

Thank you,

 

Anne Hudgens

Dean of Students