Northwest Missouri State University is still seeing significant numbers of H1N1 cases on campus.  In an effort to prevent the spread of H1N1 flu and provide better treatment to students, the University Wellness Center strongly urges you to do the following:

IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING FLU-LIKE SYMPTOMS:

It is important that you contact the Wellness Center immediately as soon as you start feeling ill.  If you are experiencing flu-like symptoms (fever over 100.0 degrees along with any combination of cough, sore throat, or body aches), please contact the University Wellness Center at 660-562-1348 as soon as you start feeling ill.  Please do not wait a day or two after you start feeling ill before contacting us.  This is especially important if you have a chronic medical condition.  If you are feeling ill and have seen another healthcare provider (such as your family doctor), please contact the Wellness Center as soon as possible in order to provide us with this information. 

It is important that you isolate yourself if you become ill after contacting a healthcare provider.  The CDC and American College Health Association recommend that students go home to isolate if feasible. If returning home is not possible, Northwest will work with you for provisions for self isolation. If you live on campus, contact Rose Viau (rviau@nwmissouri.edu) for isolation provisions. Current directives call for isolation until 24 hours after the fever is gone, so have a plan in place in the event you are instructed to isolate yourself.

If you are experiencing flu-like symptoms and visit the Wellness Center, it is important that you put on a mask and notify the Wellness Center front desk staff when you arrive. Masks are provided in the front entryway at the Wellness Center.  Wellness Center staff will then immediately escort you to an alternate waiting area and will expedite your evaluation and treatment.  If you have H1N1, taking this measure will help in preventing the spread of H1N1 to other students. 

H1N1 VACCINE

The Wellness Center is continuing to work with the Nodaway County Health Department on procuring H1N1 vaccine for Northwest students.  We will provide updates as they become available.

Please note that the Nodaway County Health Department will be offering free H1N1 vaccine to the public Nov. 11 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Laura Street Baptist Church in Maryville for individuals who meet the following criteria:

• Pregnant women
• Children under the age of 5 years
• Individuals ages 5–18 years with chronic medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, etc.)

HOW TO PREVENT CATCHING AND SPREADING H1N1:

It is important to practice good cough etiquette and hand washing hygiene.  As with previous campus directives and consistent with the Centers for Disease Control instructions, coughing into your sleeve and frequent hand washing with soap and water is an important way to prevent the spread of the virus.

Be informed. Northwest urges you to become fully informed about H1N1 and the easy precautions that will help avoid infection and any potential disruption to your academic schedule. For additional information on symptoms, visit http://www.flu.gov or Bearcat Alert on the Northwest homepage.

Please contact the University Wellness Center at 660.562.1348 if you have any questions.

Older Updates >>

Northwest Emergency Text Message Service

Northwest Missouri State University has launched Bearcat Alert, an emergency text-messaging system to increase the University’s ability to communicate with students during times of crisis. The program is voluntary and is open to all Northwest students, faculty and staff. Users must have a Northwest account in order to sign up for alerts. The alerts will cost only what cellular phone plans dictate for normal text messages.

To Sign-Up

1. Log into myNorthwest with your Northwest network username/password.
2. On the Home tab, look for the  Bearcat Alert Text Messaging channel (by default, the channel should be on the left side, see image).
3. Click the Bearcat Alert link to be taken to an external site.
4. Provide your up-to-date phone and contact information to start receiving emergency text messages.