All Faculty and Staff

Q. What do I do if I get sick?
A. An employee experiencing flu-like symptoms should immediately notify his or her supervisor or department head. The employee should stay at home until free of fever without use of fever-reducing medication for at least 24 hours. The duration of the time off may be longer for employees with direct patient care responsibilities; these employees should discuss their specific situation with their supervisor.

The time off may be charged to accrued sick time. If not enough sick time is available then the employee will be charged accrued vacation or personal holiday time. If total accrued benefit time is not sufficient to cover time away from work, then the employee will be placed in an unpaid status.

Q. What do I do if one my co-workers is sick but keeps coming to work?
A. If a co-worker appears to have flu-like symptoms, you should take universal precautions and alert the appropriate supervisor or department head. The individual should be directed by their supervisor to go home immediately and self-isolate in order to keep from spreading the virus to others.

Q. They've closed my child's school/daycare as a precautionary measure and I don't have alternate childcare arrangements. What should I do about leave?
A. If your child's school or child care facility closes, you may use accrued vacation, personal holiday or sick time for the duration of the closure with your supervisor or department head's approval. If total accrued benefit time is not sufficient to cover time away from work, then the employee will be placed in an unpaid status.

Q. They've closed my child's school/daycare as a precautionary measure but he/she isn't sick. Can I bring him/her to work with me?
A. No. Children should not be brought into the workplace for extended periods of time.  Employees should follow the guidelines in the above FAQ concerning children and school/daycare closure.       

Q. Can I work from home?
A. Employees may work from home if initiated and/or approved by their department head. Implementation will depend on several factors, including necessity and feasibility. All employees should expect that approval will vary from department to department, and may also vary among employees within the same department. Employees with direct patient care responsibilities can not perform work from home.

Q. If an employee has been here less than six months and contracts the flu, will he or she be able to make up their lost time when they are healthy and continue receiving pay and benefits, or will they receive no pay if they were to have to take off?
A.  An employee in their initial six-month probationary period will not be eligible to use benefit time if they miss work due to the employee or a family member contracting the flu; instead, these employees will be placed in an unpaid status. As per UAB policy, Hospital employees in their initial six-month probationary period may use accrued personal holiday time.

Q. Will I get a free H1N1 flu vaccine? What about a free seasonal flu vaccine?
A. UAB planned to offer seasonal flu immunization free of charge to all faculty, staff, and students once the vaccine became available. However, UAB has been informed by its suppliers and public health officials that due to greatly increased national demand, there has been an extreme delay in delivery of the seasonal flu vaccine.

Because of this shortage, the university is not able to offer seasonal flu immunization to all faculty, staff and students as planned. Therefore, we encourage you to contact your regular health care provider regarding seasonal flu vaccination.

Employees of UAB Hospital, the UAB Health System and the UA Health Services Foundation who are direct health care providers should follow their normal seasonal flu vaccination protocol.

When the H1N1 vaccine is available, which will probably be later this fall, it will be given at no charge and in priority order to:

• Pregnant women
• Health care workers and emergency medical responders who are direct care providers
• People caring for infants under 6 months of age
• Children and young adults from 6 months to 24 years
• People aged 25 to 64 years with underlying medical conditions (e.g. asthma, diabetes)

Obviously, the majority of UAB's student population, as well as many of our employees, fall into these categories, which are in the guidelines set by the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.  

Q. If I get a vaccine for the H1N1 flu will my spouse/child also get a vaccine to protect them so I won't have to worry about giving them the virus if I come to work and treat/see/come in contact with flu patients?
A.  UAB will offer H1N1 flu shots to faculty, staff and students only. Family members should seek other sources such as their primary care doctor, Health Department, etc.

Q. I'm a hospital employee; do I have to wear a mask at work?
A.  Hospital employees should follow their standard department protocol unless otherwise instructed by their department head.

^ Back to the top

Faculty Only

Q. What resources are available to help me provide alternatives to classroom teaching?
A. A "Quick start technology toolkit" has been created for faculty who are not familiar with the Blackboard Vista course management system. Your courses have "shells" created – you can use this resource to communicate with students, give and receive assignments and many other activities. The toolkit can be located at: www.uab.edu/it/instech/techtoolkit.html

You can also access it from www.uab.edu/flu by clicking on "Emergency Support for Teaching & Learning." For faculty unfamiliar with the Blackboard Vista system, support is available through the Instructional Technology resources listed at http://www.uab.edu/it/instech/about.html#contact or by contacting AskIT at 205-996-5555.

Q. Should I modify my class attendance policies?
A. For faculty with mandatory attendance policies, students may be absent for legitimate public health reasons. You should treat such absences as excused, and make reasonable accommodations for making up missed work and exams, as you would for absences conventionally excused due to circumstances listed in the UAB catalog.

Q. What do I do if one of my students is sick but keeps coming to class?
A. Advise the student to stay at home until free of fever without the use of fever-reducing medication for at least 24 hours. Communicate with the student through online resources.

^ Back to the top

Students Only

Q. What do I do if I get sick?
A. If you have flu-like illness (sore throat, cough, fever of 100oF or more) you should stay away from classes and limit interactions with other people, except to seek medical care. Do not return to classes until at least 24 hours after you no longer have a fever, or signs of a fever, without the use of fever-reducing medicines. Students who live within a few hours' drive of the campus and are experiencing flu-like symptoms should return home for 48 to 72 hours or until they are fever free without the aid of fever-reducing medications for a period of 24 hours. 

Q. Will I be excused from class if I miss due to the flu?
A. If you have the flu or flu-like symptoms you are being asked not to attend class for legitimate public health reasons. We are instructing faculty to treat these absences as excused and to make reasonable accommodations allowing students to make up missed work and exams as they would for conventionally excused absences as outlined in the UAB catalog.

Q. What do I do if my roommate/classmate is sick but keeps attending gatherings/class?
A. You should tell your RA or instructor. Residential students with flu-like illness who live relatively close to the campus should return to their home to keep from making others sick. If that's not possible, the ill student should be asked to stay in their room and not attend class or participate in social gatherings.  

All students are encouraged to practice good hygiene – wash hands frequently with soap and water when possible, and cover noses and mouths with a tissue when coughing or sneezing (or a shirt sleeve or elbow if no tissue is available).

Students should call their doctors to discuss their symptoms and treatment but do not necessarily need to visit the doctor unless symptoms become more severe or there is an underlying medical condition that may put them at increased risk.

Current students enrolled in the Student Health Plan have access to UAB Student Health Services, 934-3580, 930 20th St. South, Suite 221. It is important to call before visiting the office if you have flu-like symptoms. Students who are experiencing flu-like symptoms should call the Student Health Flu Hotline at 996-6066.

Q. How will I find out if classes are cancelled?
A. At this time we do not anticipate cancelling all classes at UAB. Should individual classes be cancelled, class members will be notified through their UAB e-mail.

^ Back to the top

Patients

Q. Can I get a H1N1 flu vaccine at UAB?
A. Yes, UAB will administer the vaccine when available as outlined by CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Please contact The Kirklin Clinic at 205-801-8624 for more information.

Q. Can I get treated for H1N1 flu at UAB?
A. Yes, UAB will follow recommended guidelines for treatment as outlined by CDC. If you have normal flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills or body aches, please contact your doctor or call 205-801-8624 for instructions.

Q. What is UAB doing to make sure that if another patient has H1N1 flu I am protected?
A. Patient safety is always a priority at UAB. In this case, UAB is following all recommended guidelines as outlined by the CDC.

^ Back to the top

*If you have questions about downloading files Click Here.