Thursday, November 19, 2009

Good Hand: Casino Protects Against Flu

By Rosalie Rayburn
Copyright © 2009 Albuquerque Journal
      Santa Ana Star Casino doesn't want to gamble that its slots may spread the flu.
       About 3,000 people visit the casino, located on the Santa Ana Pueblo near Bernalillo, daily to play slot machines, table games and eat at its restaurants.
       Casino managers became concerned when stories began to circulate this spring about the new H1N1 strain of flu virus that was proving deadly.
       “An executive team felt something needed to be done,” said Michael Burdick, the casino's director of marketing. The team consulted physicians who recommended hand hygiene as the best way to limit risks of infection.
       Based on the advice, casino officials beefed up existing routines. Instead of a morning and evening wipe down, cleaning crews now go over the casino's 1,428 slot machines up to 10 times daily with an alcohol-based sanitizer spray, Burdick said.
       Table games get new sets of cards every two or four hours rather than once daily, and chips are cleaned three times a day in the money vault area.
       Hand sanitizer dispensers are positioned throughout the gaming and public areas. Masks are available for customers who request them.
       What's really caught on are marker-pen shaped personal sanitizers decorated with the casino logo that staff began handing out.
       “They're proving extremely popular,” Burdick said.
       Recently, staff handed out about 5,000 over a two-day period. Burdick said the casino had to scramble to find alternative supplies until their regular supplier could ship some with the printed logo.
       The casino hasn't hired extra staff, but it has had to adjust shift schedules for its housekeeping staff to cope with the beefed up cleansing routines, Burdick said.
       Casino employees also have the opportunity to get free shots against the seasonal flu.
       Santa Ana Star Casino is not the only casino taking flu precautions. Published reports say casinos in Iowa, Nevada and South Dakota have all introduced similar measures.
       

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