CEO Addresses Illinois Business Leaders About Developing Pandemic and Business Continuity...

CEO Addresses Illinois Business Leaders About Developing Pandemic and Business
Continuity Plans

CHICAGO, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- George Abercrombie, president and chief
executive officer, Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., told more than 100 Illinois
business leaders today at a Rotary Club of Chicago luncheon that the threat of
a pandemic flu presents businesses with challenges unlike those anticipated
with traditional emergency preparedness plans.
"While businesses are all too familiar with preparing for potential
disasters such as floods or tornadoes," according to Abercrombie, "local
businesses also need to look at the special challenges posed by the potential
of a public health crisis caused by a global influenza pandemic."
Abercrombie, who shared details of Roche's own plans to safeguard the
health of its employees and business infrastructure during a pandemic flu
outbreak, says that Illinois' key industry sectors, including finance and
insurance; manufacturing; government; wholesale trade; and transportation and
warehouse would be among the hardest hit.
Last March, Trust for America's Health released a report (funded by The
Pew Charitable Trusts as part of the U.S. Pandemic Preparedness Initiative)
estimating that Illinois could face a potential financial loss of $31.3
billion as a result of a severe pandemic flu outbreak.
"Influenza pandemics are not static events like a hurricane or tornado,
nor are they confined to a specific area. Pandemics come in multiple waves,
each one affecting a given area from four to twelve weeks. During the first
wave, officials expect 20 to 30% of people will become ill. Here in Cook
County, that's 1,057,731 to 1,586,697 people who will get very sick in a very
short period of time, inundating emergency rooms already strained to near
capacity."
According to Abercrombie, experts believe that many businesses and
organizations would have difficulty maintaining operations as a result of an
increased level of absenteeism due to illness, employees caring for the sick
and social-distancing policies. In Illinois alone, there is the potential for
more than 3.7 million employees to be absent from their jobs, according to the
Trust for America's Health report, resulting in losses of roughly $14.1
billion due to absenteeism and death.
Based on his experience in working with the federal government the past
several years on pandemic preparedness, Abercrombie reminded the audience that
the government has asked private businesses to share in the responsibility of
planning. While the federal government has plans to help slow the spread of
the virus among critical populations, such as healthcare workers and emergency
personnel, it is up to local communities and businesses to ensure that
residents and employees stay healthy and that businesses and local economies
remain up and running.
More information on how businesses can organize their own pandemic plans
is available online at www.pandemictoolkit.com. For more information about the
Trust for America's Health, visit
http://healthyamericans.org/reports/flurecession/releases/TN.pdf.
About Roche
Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. (Roche), based in Nutley, N.J., is the U.S.
pharmaceuticals headquarters of the Roche Group, one of the world's leading
research-oriented healthcare groups with core businesses in pharmaceuticals
and diagnostics. For more than 100 years in the U.S., Roche has been committed
to developing innovative products and services that address prevention,
diagnosis and treatment of diseases, thus enhancing people's health and
quality of life. An employer of choice, in 2007 Roche was named Top Company of
the Year by Med Ad News, one of the Top 20 Employers (Science) and ranked the
No. 1 Company to Sell For (Selling Power). In previous years, Roche has been
named as a Top Company for Older Workers (AARP) and one of the Best Companies
to Work For in America (Fortune). For additional information about the U.S.
pharmaceuticals business, visit our websites: http://www.rocheusa.com or
www.roche.us. All trademarks used or mentioned in this release are
protected by law.

Contact: Al Wasilewski
C: 973-943-9252

SOURCE Roche

Al Wasilewski, +1-973-943-9252