The purpose of this initiative is to look at ways to reduce our risk of acquiring infectious diseases. Topics covered include: food safety smarts, adults vaccinations, proper hand washing, coughing and sneezing techniques, travel health tips, facts about the flu, boosting your immune system, combating household germs, and much more.

Planning a theme-related event is a great way to let employees know about upcoming activities, contests, resources, and information available to them. By doing this, you will help employees make the connection between the event or activity and the other components of your campaign for the Infection Protection initiative. Below are a variety of ideas that can be organized as stand alone events or integrated into upcoming at-work activities.

An Infectious Event

Educate employees about the importance of proper hand washing to help prevent the spread of the flu and other infectious diseases. Employers can order a “Germ Glow” kit to host a demonstration on how easily germs are passed along from person to person. Kits usually include “germ glow” powder and oil, with an ultra violet light. The powder and oil work by emitting a fluorescent glow when under the ultra violet light. It can be used on surfaces or an individual’s hands to demonstrate how germs are transferred and to show the importance of proper cleaning techniques. For more information on how you can obtain a “Germ Glow” kit contact Kevin Morse, Windsor-Essex County Health Unit at 519- 258-2146 ext. 3110.

Give the Gift of Life

Canadian Blood Services reported in 2003 that only about 3.5% of eligible Canadians gave blood. With an aging population more blood is needed to meet increasing demands. Single donations of blood can save lives. Think about how many lives can be saved if a group of employees give blood together. Consider donating as a team by joining the Canadian Blood Services’ Partners for Life Program.

Also, at any given time, about 250 Canadians are waiting for a bone marrow match to be found. Yet, fewer than 30% of them will find a family member with compatible bone marrow to donate. Offering to join the Unrelated Bone Marrow Donor Registry (UBMDR) increases the chance that a match can be found for a patient in need. Organize an information session to encourage employees to sign up with this life - saving registry. For more information on the Partners for Life Program or on joining the UBMDR, visit www.bloodservices.ca or call 1-888-2-DONATE (1-888-236-6283).

Flu Shot Clinics

Consider offering an annual flu clinic in your workplace to help prevent the spread of the flu. For more information on organizing an on-site flu clinic visit www.beattheflu.ca. (Please note there is a fee for contracting nursing agencies to administer the vaccination at worksites). Alternatively, consider offering flexible work schedule arrangements to allow employees to access flu immunization clinics that are being offered in the community. Stay tuned for the upcoming 2006 Windsor-Essex County Flu –Shot Clinic Schedule, which will be emailed to all workplaces.

Medicine Cabinet Cleanout

Encourage employees to remove from their homes expired and unwanted medications safely. Set up disposal stations at work on predetermined dates and ask them to return expired and unwanted medications in paper bags that you have supplied. Medications can then be dropped off to local pharmacies that are designated disposal centers.  Be sure to let everyone know that you will not be collecting information on any one person’s medication usage. In fact, encourage employees to black out or tear off the labels on the pill containers if they are concerned with confidentiality. 

Organizing a medicine cabinet clean out is a great way to dispose of medications in an environmentally friendly fashion, and to protect employees and their families from inadvertently consuming a medication that is no longer appropriate. For more information on how to set up a medicine cabinet cleanup, contact the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit at (519) 258-2146 ext. 3100.

Healthy Holidays Cooking Class

The holidays are a time for friends, family and delicious foods. For festive gatherings, employees can enjoy holiday foods the healthy way. Invite a Registered Dietitian to present recipes and meal tips for holiday dining and to stress the importance of practicing portion control when eating out. Also be sure to request information on safe food handling, storage, thawing, and cooking practices to highlight the Infection Protection initiative.

Infection Protection Fair

Organize a Health Fair at your workplace. Invite organizations to provide handout materials and introduce employees to the issues related to the theme. Health professionals to invite could include food safety educators, Registered Nurses, Registered Dietitians, Certified Asthma Educators, Respirologists, Veterinarians, and internal Health and Safety representatives from your workplace. Organizations could include your local Public Health department, internal food service providers, cleaning product suppliers and community/recreation centres. Feel free to expand on this list to include additional organizations that may have valuable information that fits into the Infection Protection theme.   

Get Caught Practicing Infection Protection

Practicing a healthy lifestyle including eating balanced meals, being active on a regular basis and managing stress are important ways that we can boost our immune system. This can help to reduce the susceptibility to many infectious diseases. Also important are using proper hand washing and sneezing techniques, and getting an annual flu shot. To encourage the adoption of these behaviours, have members of your Wellness Committee distribute small prizes to employees “caught” practicing one of these healthy behaviours. Each small reward could make the recipient eligible for a larger prize draw at the end of the contest period.

Diabetes Awareness Month

November is Diabetes Awareness Month. Consider organizing a single activity or month-long series of events to raise awareness about the risk factors for diabetes. Activities could include placing information about diabetes in pay stubs or in internal communications, inviting a qualified expert to speak with employees about preventative measures that individuals can take to reduce the risk of developing type II diabetes, or offering a free blood glucose clinic. If offering a clinic, have trained professionals administer the tests and inform participants that screening only provides a general indication of their blood glucose levels at that moment, not a definitive diagnosis of any medical condition.

For information on speakers or to obtain credible print resources on diabetes, contact the Diabetes Program at the Sandwich Community Health Centre (519-254-3402) or your local Canadian Diabetes Association office.  

Healthy Workplace Week (October 23-29)

Healthy Workplace Week is a yearly celebration of workplace health in Canadian organizations. Mark the occasion this year by organizing an event or activity at your workplace. For more information on Canada’s Healthy Workplace Week, or for event and activity ideas, visit: www.healthyworkplaceweek.ca.  In addition, call 519 -258-2146 ext. 3100 for information or to register for the Working Toward Wellness Workplace Awards and the “Healthy Workplaces: Mission Possible” workshop featuring Dr. Louise Hartly, being held at the Giovanni Caboto Club on Thursday, October 26th. 

Active Family Outing

Foster social connections and encourage physical activity by organizing a family outing.  Consider renting a room at a community centre, indoor facility (e.g., skating rink, swimming pool), or outdoor recreation area (e.g., local farm/orchard, municipal park).  The event could be seasonal or related to an upcoming holiday.  Have prizes and offer nutritious snacks.  You may want to use a theme related to this initiative, and remember to include posters and take-home information.

Office Clean Up

Organize an office clean up day to give staff the opportunity to clean and disinfect their workstations of potential germs. Also include time to file, organize, and throw out or recycle old papers. Demonstrations for using environmentally safe household cleaning products could also be integrated into the day. This event is a great way for staff to learn practical tips on cleaning both their workstations and homes.

Beat the Bite

Raccoons, skunks, bats, dogs, cats, and mice: furry friends or infected foe?  Educate employees about keeping their homes, families, and pets safe from potentially infected small animals that are commonly found in our urban and rural areas. Host an education seminar and invite a local Veterinarian or the Humane Society to deliver a presentation that outlines how to "animal proof" your home or cottage before the cold weather arrives, how to safely and humanely deal with nesting sites, how to recognize the signs of an animal that is infected with a disease, and steps to take if you have been bitten or scratched by an animal.

Pumpkin Fun

To raise awareness about the importance of eating more vegetables, organize some activities that feature pumpkin or squash. These nutrient-dense vegetables are typically harvested locally during the Fall. Here are a couple of suggestions:

• Organize a potluck of trail mix that includes roasted pumpkin seeds. Request that employees bring in one ingredient to add to the trail mix, like raisins, dry cereal (whole grain Cheerios, Shreddies, Corn Bran, etc.), dried fruit (apples, apricots, cranberries, etc.) and other nuts or seeds like almonds, peanuts, soy nuts, etc. Once all ingredients are combined and mixed, fill small bags and distribute among those who donated ingredients.
• Hold a recipe contest or a tasting session of squash or pumpkin soups made by employees. This event could also be used as a fundraiser for a favourite cause.
• If your workplace has a cafeteria that can offer soup, request that squash soup be added to the menu on a regular basis.

The Spread of Infection

Plan an event that is designed to demonstrate how easily and quickly common infections, such as the flu, can spread through the workplace. Employees can play for prizes for extra incentive. 
Here is how it works:

• All interested employees submit their names to the event organizer.
• From the list of players, one name is chosen (or 2 if there are more than 100 players).
• The player who has been chosen is considered "infected" and is given the names of two additional players.
• The infected person then needs to find these people and infect them by shaking hands (depending on people's creativity, other ways to infect could be leaving a card on an object, such as the photocopier, where the "victim" would touch it).
• When infected, the new person needs to report to the event organizer to receive two more names, to spread the infection too.
• The last 'healthy' person is declared the winner and should receive a grand prize. In addition, all those who are ‘infected’ during the contest should be eligible for prizes. 

Hosting a Posting Contest

Hold a contest to help you identify all of the locations in your workplace where a hand washing sign could be posted. Request that employees provide their suggestions on potential locations for the signs by filling out a contest ballot. Consider offering prizes, such a gift baskets full of environmentally friendly cleaning products, for employees who submit completed ballots.

Pay Stub Messages

Include tips on related topics (e.g., germs around the house, food safety smarts, and travel health tips) or notices of upcoming events (e.g., contests) associated with the initiative with employee pay stubs. Hint: Use “Fast Facts” from Health Issues… in the workplace newsletter. Please note that permission is not needed to reprint, but Fast Facts cannot be adapted and must be used in its entirety.

Ribbon Campaign or Fundraiser for AIDS

Hold a fundraising event or become involved with World AIDS Day (December 1, 2006) by hosting a ribbon campaign to honour and commemorate those lost to AIDS.  For more information contact AIDS Committee of Windsor at 519-972-0222 or www.aidswindsor.com.