Communicable Diseases
The communicable disease/pandemic influenza policy of Western Piedmont Community College is an effort to ensure the good health and safety of all employees and students. The College adopts this policy in an effort to control communicable diseases and the threat of pandemic influenza on campus based upon established rules and regulations of the N. C. Division of Health Services. Employees, employees of contractors or contracted services, or students infected with a communicable disease have the responsibility of reporting this fact to the Director of Human Resources or the Dean of Student Services, as appropriate.
Communicable Disease is defined as an illness due to an infectious agent, which is transmitted directly or indirectly to a person from an “infected person or animal through the agency of an intermediate animal, host, or vector, or through the inanimate environment” (N.C.G.S. 130A-135). Communicable disease could include for example, Chickenpox, Infectious Mononucleosis, Influenza (New Type A Virus), Measles, Meningitis, Tuberculosis, and Whooping Cough.
Persons who are infected with a communicable disease are expected to seek expert medical advice and are encouraged to advise local health authorities. Local health authorities should offer counseling to these persons about measures that can be taken to prevent the spread of infection and to protect their own health.
Notification Procedures for Students
Students who know, or have a reasonable basis for believing, that they are infected with a communicable disease have an ethical and legal obligation to behave in accordance with such knowledge to protect themselves and others. Students are required to report this information to the Dean of Student Services. Medical information relating to the communicable disease of a student or employee will be disclosed to responsible college officials only on a strictly limited need-to-know basis. No person, group, agency, insurer, employer, or institution should be provided any medical information without the prior specific written consent of a student unless required by state and/or federal law. Furthermore, all medical information relating to the communicable diseases of students and employees will be kept confidential, according to state and federal law, including the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act.
If a student reports a communicable disease condition to the Dean of Student Services, the student may be excluded from the institution until an appropriate evaluation of the student’s medical condition can be made. The evaluation may be made by a physician or a health department official and testing may be required if appropriate. Students in any Allied Health program may have additional requirements, as specified in each program’s student handbook; therefore, this student should report any suspected communicable disease to the Program Coordinator who in turn will notify the Dean of Student Services.
The assessment of a student with a suspected communicable disease and the final determination of that student’s ability to remain in school will be made by the Dean of Student Services, after consultation with a Communicable Disease Committee and based upon professional medical judgment.
If a student is found to have a communicable disease, then the Dean of Student Services will prohibit the attendance of the student on campus or at any College activity until a satisfactory letter or certificate is obtained from one or more licensed physicians or public health officials stating that the student is not a health risk to employees and other students at the College.