Boston University administrators have been isolating students with ‘influenza-like symptoms’ in Danielsen Hall and other on-campus residences, Student Health Services officials said.
The growing H1N1 pandemic drove BU’s ‘campus flu task force’ and Incident Command Group to provide empty beds on campus for returning students to ensure isolation for those who may need it, SHS Director David McBride told The Daily Free Press in an email.
‘Students with influenza like symptoms have been given isolation rooms in a number of locations around campus, I believe including, but not limited to, Danielsen,’ McBride said.
BU spokesman Colin Riley confirmed that about 60 rooms have been set aside for isolation purposes.
Students should not be alarmed by BU’s decision to isolate students with flu symptoms in Danielsen because it is BU’s way to ensure the flu will not spread, McBride said.
‘I’ve seen no signs of, nor is there any indication for, panic.’ McBride said. ‘BU is well prepared to protect our students and our community.’
Daily Free Press reporters found upon repeated visits that the second floor of Danielsen was almost completely unoccupied. The halls were silent, and knocks on the doors went unanswered. The student nametags on the doors were nameless – all but one nametag at the end of a hallway: Angela Holohan, a College of Communication junior.
Holohan said she did a summer room-change into a single in Danielsen at ‘the last minute,’ and she thought it was strange that there were no other names posted on the other doors on the second floor. She also said she was concerned that the only other person at her first floor meeting was her RA, who said no one else was living on the floor ‘for the time being.’
Holohan said about a week ago, she read a Boston Globe article that reported BU had set aside five dozen rooms specifically for the purposes of swine flu isolation.
‘I assumed, after reading that article, that I was living on one of those floors,’ Holohan said. Two Center for English Language and Orientation Program students moved to the floor two days ago.
‘I want BU to know I’m upset,’ Holohan said. ‘They didn’t have to tell everyone at BU about it, but they could’ve told the people on the floor at least.’
McBride said 13 students have been diagnosed with flu-like symptoms since Aug. 31.
The ‘key’ to helping students with flu-like symptoms is to isolate them as quickly as possible to prevent the disease from spreading, Riley said. He could not confirm the Danielsen Hall situation for privacy reasons.
‘When we have these available spaces, we can provide you or a roommate with an option,’ Riley said.
When asked if students with flu symptoms were currently being housed in Danielsen, Hall Director Pauline Gauthier, along with all other Danielsen resident assistants and BU Buildings and Grounds representatives, declined to comment.
A source close to the Residence Hall Association, who wished to remain anonymous because she is not authorized to speak to the press, said members of Danielsen’s Office of Residence Life are responsible for caring for the isolated students. They bring them ‘Rhetty-to-go meals’ and flu ‘gift bags,’ containing facemasks and instructions for what they can and cannot do ‘- such as leaving their rooms without their masks.
An example of an instruction given to the infected students is to not leave their rooms without masks on, the source said. All of the students’ personal belongings must be moved from their dorms around campus to their new rooms in Danielsen, another responsibility of the Danielsen Residence Life Staff.
‘It’s concerning because people need to be informed if people with flu symptoms are moving in [to Danielsen],’ the anonymous RHA-affiliated source said.’
McBride said BU has no plan to routinely alert students who live in buildings like Danielsen that there are ill students being isolated in their buildings.
‘Not only would this be a violation of the ill students’ privacy, it just wouldn’t make a difference,’ McBride said.’
Danielsen RHA Vice President Nelson Hernandez said he was concerned.
‘I thought it was weird that people were moving in, staying for a short time, and then moving back out,’ Hernandez said.’
Several Danielsen Hall residents said they have seen people in masks and gloves entering the dorm carrying prepackaged meals.
‘I think I saw one person in a mask like a week ago,’ Fourth-floor Danielsen resident and CAS freshman Priya Bedi said. ‘They were like going from one floor to another. It was someone from Danielsen, I’ve seen them around.’
‘I just figured they were sick. I’m pretty sure they got off at the second floor so it kind of made sense,’ Bedi said.
Some Danielsen residents said they have not seen or heard of any isolated students living in their dorm.’
‘I didn’t know anything like this was going on,’ CAS freshman Ann Liu said.
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Wow. Well as the parent of one of the students infected I can confirm that he was moved to Danielsen 2nd floor on Monday of this week and was told by health services he probably has H1N1 but was not tested at health services because they said they were just assuming that anyone with flu symptoms had swine flu. I think BU needs to work some of the bugs out of the system though, because he received very little care and attention once moved to a quarantine situation. Home for us is North Carolina so moving him home was not an option so he had to be moved to another dorm. He was told his friends would have to bring him food but Danielsen has no dining hall, and all of his friends were not that close by, and are also juggling 18 hours of class. His friends were calling and texting him, but it was really unfair to expect them to bring him food. Then we were told he would be assigned a “flu buddy” for food and other needs, but that never happened either. He had a fever at one point of almost 104 on Monday-Tuesday and no one from Danielsen or anywhere came to see him until I got upset with the school on Tuesday. Then someone did bring him a meal but that was Tuesday lunch time and no one brought a meal again. He received one or two calls from health services on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Monday when he first got sick, I overnighted him food and drinks so he had plenty of gatorade and juice, but the room he was in had no frig or microwave so it was pretty much crackers and peanut butter all week. Luckily he had his own tylenol so he was able to bring that with him and did not have to go to a store. The thing is, he had to walk to Danielsen with all his stuff – no rides were provided. He was really sick, and dizzy so I wasn’t very happy about that. What if he didn’t have medicine? A lot of kids arrive to school without a first aid kit. And if he had no food? He would have to leave the quarantine and go to a store – infecting people right? I understand that it takes a lot of coordination to deal with this kind of situation, and although I think overall the school has done a good job of planning for H1N1 there are as I said a few bugs in the system. Fortunately, my kid’s fever has broken and he hopes to return to his dorm tomorrow.