Walk the Walk: Immunize Your Staff Against Flu

Don’t talk the talk if you don’t walk the walk. Show your commitment to public health by making sure that 100 percent of your practice staff are vaccinated against influenza.

If your practice is completely vaccinated, email stat@pamedsoc.org to receive a letter to post in your practice recognizing this achievement.

PAMED is recognizing practices throughout the state who report that 100 percent of their eligible employees have been vaccinated against the flu. It is especially important for health care workers to get the flu vaccine so they do not expose patients, especially those that are high-risk, to a disease that infects millions of people and kills hundreds each year.

To qualify, the flu vaccine must have been administered to all employees in your practice who are eligible to receive it, as determined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If some employees refuse the vaccine for religious reasons the practice can still qualify for 100 percent participation.

Hospitals can also be recognized. Hospitals with more than 90 percent of their staff vaccinated against the flu can receive a certificate of excellence and become part of the Pennsylvania Health Care Workers honor roll by contacting the state Department of Health.

The American Medical Association (AMA), the CDC, and others have many valuable resources to help you talk about flu vaccination for both physicians and patients, including:

• AMA pilot performance improvement continuing medical education activity—Aimed at increasing influenza immunization in the office setting for adults age 50 and older
• CDC’s free print materials, including a new brochure and poster
• Pennsylvania Immunization Coalition’s immunization toolkit—Provides background materials for educating staff, implementation tools, recommendations, guidelines for all adult immunizations, a schedule for inoculations, and sample promotional materials

For more information on influenza, read more on PAMED’s website.

For more information for your patients, visit PAMED’s Family Health and Wellness website.