Wash your hands frequently. Use alcohol-based hand gel. Sneeze and cough into your arm. Stay home if you are sick. Following these preventive measures will slow the spread of the H1N1 virus during the upcoming flu season. That was the advice from health officials invited to a summit in August hosted at the Johnson & Wales University Yena Center by Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI).

With mass quantities of an H1N1 vaccine not expected until late fall, public education is essential to lower infection rates and prevent significant disruption to schools and businesses. Officials urge inoculation when supplies are available.

“Collectively, as a society, if we care about our families and friends, we strongly recommend vaccination for both seasonal flu and H1N1,” said Dr. David Gifford, director of the Rhode Island Department of Health.

Classes and activities at the Providence Campus were cancelled for three days at the recommendation of the RI Department of Health when probable student cases emerged in May.

“We have revised our plans based on the evolving guidelines from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the RI Department of Health, and have begun a major public education campaign,” says Campus President Irving Schneider, PhD “Our goal is to keep the JWU community healthy and informed.”

Flexibility must be incorporated into the plans being put into place this fall as the country prepares for the spread of this new strain of flu. As Cmdr. Francisco Alvarado-Ramy of the US Centers for Disease Control noted during the summit, influenza is one of the most unpredictable and ever-changing viruses that exists today.

JWU Visitors Offer Thoughts on Varied Topics
April brought a diverse group of speakers to Providence with sage advice for their audiences.

Mawi Asgedom, an Ethiopian refugee who fled civil war, told students that resilience is the first step to reaching your goals. His own belief that he would eventually leave a Sudanese refugee camp with his family motivated him to keep living. “Our senses are like our pets: every so often we need to give them treats,” was the directive from Diane Ackerman, poet, naturalist and author of “A Natural History of the Senses.”

Our senses present a texture to life only noticed when we pay attention to our surroundings, Ackerman noted to students gathered in the Harborside Amphitheater.

“It’s easy to move up when you’re a waiter because no one wants to be there. They’re all trying to be something else: a writer, an actress, a drummer. What’s wrong with wanting to be in food service?” The question was posed by Phoebe Damrosch, Distinguished Visiting Professor for the John Hazen White School of Arts & Sciences, author of “Service Included,” and one of the first female captains of top New York restaurant, Per Se.

Distinguished Visiting Chef Anne Cooper talked about the challenge of revamping the Berkeley, Calif., elementary school lunch program into what it is today: an institutional service offering nutritious and delicious food, while teaching students to cook and garden.

“You won’t be young for as long as you think you will be.” Advice on why to consider starting a business right out of college — school of Technology DVP, Jack Templin, principal, ThoughtCap; Rhode Island Nexus

top to bottom: Phoebe Damrosch, Mawi Asgedom, Ann Cooper and Jack Templin