University Health System’s strategies included vaccine kits to individual units, Grand Round presentations, increased staff awareness and promotion of each program’s vaccination rates on the staff intranet. Increased staff awareness was achieved through educational conferences, a flu information website and blog on the health system’s website, hospital newsletters featuring immunization articles, telephone hold messages and computer screen savers.
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A quality improvement team led the initiative and set a goal of 80 percent of healthcare workers getting vaccinated. In contrast, the national average for healthcare worker vaccination is below 50 percent, according to the release.
Healthcare worker flu vaccinations can improve patient safety by reducing the spread of influenza and preventing employees from missing work due to illness. Healthcare worker flu vaccination may reduce the risk of patients acquiring the flu by 40 percent, according to the article detailing University Health System’s program in the June issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
Several professional societies, including SHEA, have recommended making vaccination a condition of employment at healthcare organizations.
Read the SHEA release on University Health System’s increase in flu vaccination rates.
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