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Health Care Personnel Flu Immunization Campaign
Health Care Personnel Flu Immunization Campaign
Last Updated: 5/9/2012
Each year, influenza results in an estimated 226,000 hospital admissions and 36,000 deaths. Evidence clearly indicates that health care personnel can unintentionally expose patients to seasonal influenza when health care personnel are not immunized. Exposure to persons infected with the influenza virus can be dangerous to vulnerable patients. Reducing influenza transmission from health care personnel to patients has become a top priority both nationally and in Pennsylvania. Despite longstanding recommendations by a number of national organizations, the response to voluntary immunization programs has not increased health care personnel influenza immunization rates to acceptable levels. Institutions that have implemented a mandatory health care personnel influenza vaccination policy have radically improved health care personnel influenza immunization rates at or near 100 percent. Therefore, to protect the lives and welfare of hospital patients and employees, improve quality, and reduce health care costs, The Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) encourages all members to implement an evidence-based universal vaccination initiative, working toward vaccination becoming a condition of employment by 2013, as a part of their comprehensive approach to prevent all health care-associated infections. Additional Information: HAP issued “Universal Flu Immunization Programs for Health Care Personnel,” as part of its Quality Best Practice Series, to assist your organization as it works toward implementing policies and practices that require health care personnel to obtain influenza vaccinations.
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