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Northwest Missouri State University

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Bearcat Alert

The Northwest campus is operating under normal conditions.

STUDENTS ENCOURAGED TO GET VACCINATED BEFORE TRAVELING FOR SPRING BREAK

Along with the American College Health Association (ACHA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Northwest is strongly encouraging students to get vaccinated for H1N1 prior to spring break travel to prevent the virus from spreading on our campus.

In the spring of 2009, the CDC saw the spread of H1N1 result in illnesses following travel associated with spring break. With the start of Northwest’s spring break on March 19 and large numbers of students expected to travel domestically and internationally, getting vaccinated against H1N1 is especially important.

Although flu activity has declined in recent weeks, H1N1 viruses continue to spread in the United States and abroad, causing illness, hospitalization and even deaths. Recently several colleges and universities have reported increased influenza activity on their campuses. READ MORE ...


H1N1 VACCINE AVAILABLE AT THE WELLNESS CENTER

H1N1 flu vaccine is now available to Northwest students at the University Wellness Center. Students may contact the Wellness Center at 660.562.1348 to schedule an appointment to be vaccinated. Vaccinations are being provided to students at no charge. 

Please note that the H1N1 vaccine is different than the seasonal influenza vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend getting both an H1N1 vaccination and a seasonal flu shot to be fully protected this year. 

Please visit www.flu.gov/individualfamily/vaccination/index.html for more information about the H1N1 vaccine.

INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS EXPERIENCING FLU-LIKE SYMPTOMS:

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. 

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. 

HOW TO PREVENT CATCHING AND SPREADING H1N1 AND SEASONAL FLU:

Practice good cough etiquette and hand washing hygiene. Coughing into your sleeve and frequent hand washing with soap and water and using alcohol-based hand sanitizers is an important way to prevent the spread of flu viruses.

Be informed. Northwest urges you to become fully informed about H1N1 and precautions that will help avoid infection and any potential disruption to your academic schedule. For additional information on symptoms, visit www.flu.gov.

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

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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

Where can I find the channel?
  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.

Note: If you don't have the channel on your Home tab, you can add the channel to your page. Hover over the Add Content button at the top of the page. The Bearcat Alert Text Messaging channel is located under the General Services/Resources category. Click the channel name to add it to the tab.

H1N1 (Flu)



Federal Threat Level

Report a Threat

What To Do

Northwest Resources

Phone Numbers

Emergency 911
University Police 660.562.1254
Safe Ride Home 660.562.1245
Maryville Police 660.562.3209
Maryville Fire 660.562.3209

State Resources

Federal Resources