Welcome

September 20, 2009

Last month, a Presidential panel reported the H1N1 (swine) flu virus could infect as many as 60-120 million Americans by this winter. While most cases are expected to be mild, Sarasota County public health officials are preparing for a challenging flu season. They estimate nearly 100,000 local residents will become sick with the new virus during the next 6-8 months; of those, they predict as many as half will seek medical care and up to 1,000 may require hospitalization.

Sarasota County already has one of the highest percentages of reported flu cases in Florida – and regular flu season has yet to begin. While we hope the timely delivery of an H1N1 vaccine will help curb the outbreak, now is the time to get the message out that hand washing is a critical front line defense against any kind of flu and many other infections.

Businesses and organizations like yours can play a vital role in helping to stop the spread of illness in our community. We are asking you to partner with us in a multi-county effort to keep southwest Florida families safe by joining a simple, but essential hand washing campaign. Hospitals and health departments from Sarasota, Charlotte and Desoto counties are spearheading the Clean Hands Campaign and enlisting community leaders and businesses to help get the message out to your customers, employees and their families

We are not looking for financial support. Our goal is to encourage frequent hand washing by reaching out to people where they live, work and play. Keeping hands clean prevents illness at home, work and school. It is one of the most important tools in healthcare settings, daycare centers, schools and restaurants to prevent flus, colds, food poisoning, infectious diarrhea, skin infections and other hand-borne illnesses. Enclosed you will find a toolkit to help you reinforce this healthful practice at your worksite.

As a participant, you will receive a window sign to reflect your support of this hand washing initiative and serve as a symbol of the proactive steps you are taking to safeguard employees and visitors in your facility. Your business, organization or school name and hyperlink to your website will be spotlighted on our new CleanHandsCampaign.org website and shared with media partners promoting this campaign for the next six months through newspaper, television, radio and online news coverage, advertising and public service announcements.

Please contact us at your earliest opportunity to discuss your involvement. We look forward to a healthy partnership.

Sincerely,

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