Mandatory flu shots work for award-winning PA hospital

Mandatory flu shots work for award-winning PA hospital
By: David LaHoda May 27th, 2010


The Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania (CHOP) received the Healthcare Personnel Campaign award for immunization excellence by the National Influenza Vaccine Summit (NIVS).

The awards presented during the NIVS Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona, May 18, recognized “the value and extraordinary contributions of individuals and organizations towards improved adult, and/or childhood influenza vaccination rates within their communities during the 2009-2010 influenza season,” according to a NIVS news release.
CHOP raised the influenza vaccination rate among targeted staff from 91% for the previous year to 99.6% when it instituted a mandatory flu shot policy for the 2009-2010 influenza season. Engaging staff through education, collaboration, and data sharing and emphasizing patient safety over optional self-protection was the key to success, according to CHOP.

Some of the tactics that CHOP, a large healthcare system with an in-patient campus and more than 40 ambulatory sites used included:

•Outreach targeted to areas where vaccination rates were low in past years
•Peer-to-peer engagement
•Web-based education
•Use of a multi-disciplinary flu planning committee
•A kick-off-event that vaccinated more than 1,000 employees in four hours
•Weekly reports to managers and administrative leaders
Honorable mention in the Healthcare Personnel Campaign went to University of Texas (UT) M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, which also saw increased rates after instituting a mandatory vaccination policy.

If your healthcare facility is considering instituting or amending a mandatory flu shot policy, check out the HCPro webcast below.

Navigating the sticky issues around mandatory flu shots
Seasonal and H1N1 influenza have prompted many healthcare facilities to consider mandatory influenza immunization for employees. The reaction from employees has been unmistakably vocal, as issues of patient safety and workers’ rights clash. Join HCPro for Mandatory Influenza Vaccinations: Get Healthcare Staff Onboard at Your Facility on Wednesday, July 14, at 1 p.m. (Eastern) for a 90-minute webcast that will provide you with the medical and legal perspectives for developing a mandatory influenza immunization policy.