- 1
- 2
- next
- | single page
E-mail
Print
Sheila Saunders, who organizes patient admissions in Greater Baltimore Medical Center's labor and delivery unit, knows that newborns and expectant mothers are at high risk of complications from flu.
But when she learned recently that GBMC was requiring seasonal flu shots for all employees, she was shocked and upset.
Though she was leaning toward getting the vaccine because of her lingering medical problems, she didn't like the mandate. Refusing the vaccine could mean losing her job.
"I don't think it's right for them to mandate personnel to take this; I think it's an invasion of our personal privacy," said Saunders, a unit secretary at the hospital, where union employees are using the grievance process to try to stop the new rule.
As hospitals nationwide take precautions against what is expected to be a frantic flu season, some are requiring seasonal flu shots for the first time, saying that the safety measure is as essential as scrubbing up before surgery.
For years, public health officials have bemoaned the relatively low rates of health care workers who receive an annual flu vaccination - some federal estimates are as low as 42 percent. But cajoling staff with perks and giveaways hasn't worked, health officials say.
Hospitals fear that workers who refuse to be vaccinated will leave their patients and colleagues at risk. And this year, with the swine flu pandemic spreading swiftly across the country, well-staffed hospitals with healthy workers will be vital.
"It's the single best thing we can do to save lives," said David Noe, vice president of corporate human relations for MedStar Health, which is requiring seasonal flu shots for all 26,000 of its employees, among them those at six Baltimore-area hospitals, including Union Memorial Hospital and Franklin Square Medical Center. The directive applies not only to nurses, doctors and others with direct patient contact, but also to janitors, contract workers and business staff.
Nearly one-third of Maryland hospitals require employees to get seasonal flu shots, and of those who don't, half are considering doing so, according to a recent Maryland Hospital Association survey. While nearly all allow exemptions to employees for religious or medical reasons, hospitals are requiring doctors' notes and signed forms documenting that an employee has declined.
Employees who do not comply with the new mandates could face disciplinary action - from written warnings to termination. In some settings, those who have not been vaccinated but work directly with patients must wear masks and protective clothing.
So far, the mandates are restricted to the seasonal flu vaccine.
Meanwhile, hospitals are strongly encouraging - but not requiring - vaccination against swine flu. Some hospital officials in the Baltimore area said they understand the skittishness about the new vaccine and do not want to confront an ethical dilemma by requiring it. Others said they didn't know when they would get enough supply.
Elsewhere, Nashville, Tenn.-based Hospital Corporation of America has made seasonal flu shots a requirement for employees at its 163 hospitals in 20 states. In New York, the state Health Department took the bold step of becoming the first in the nation to require all hospital, home health and hospice workers to get seasonal and swine flu vaccinations.
But some health care workers are furious about the new rules - and the threat of losing their jobs. In New York, workers launched loud protests and a lawsuit to reverse the edict. On Friday, a judge temporarily halted enforcement of the policy, amid heightened tensions and heated debate over the ethics of such a rule. Terence Kindlon, the attorney for the three nurses who filed the lawsuit, called the matter a civil rights issue and has said that his clients are not radicals, they simply do not think the vaccine will be good for them.
The gradual move toward mandatory influenza vaccinations kicked into high gear with the H1N1 threat, said Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of the department of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tenn.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strongly recommends seasonal flu vaccines for health care workers and places medical staff among the five priority groups for the swine flu vaccine. And recently, the Infectious Disease Society of America, where Schaffner is a board member, recommended mandatory vaccination for health care workers against both viruses.
People outside the health care community find it "absolutely shocking and surprising that more health care workers do not get vaccinated," Schaffner said. "I am profoundly disappointed by my fellow health care worker colleagues."
Staff members who care for patients are routinely required to be vaccinated against measles and mumps, and are tested annually for tuberculosis. A flu shot is no different, Schaffner said.
At GBMC, all 3,700 staff members - from nurses and technicians to volunteers and executives - must get a seasonal flu shot by Dec. 4 or sign a form declining for medical or religious reasons. Those who refuse could face disciplinary action up to termination.
" 'I don't want to do it' is not a good enough reason," said Michael Forthman, GBMC's vice president for facilities and support services. "It's along the lines of wearing gloves and masks in an operating room; this is something you need to do."
But when she learned recently that GBMC was requiring seasonal flu shots for all employees, she was shocked and upset.
Though she was leaning toward getting the vaccine because of her lingering medical problems, she didn't like the mandate. Refusing the vaccine could mean losing her job.
"I don't think it's right for them to mandate personnel to take this; I think it's an invasion of our personal privacy," said Saunders, a unit secretary at the hospital, where union employees are using the grievance process to try to stop the new rule.
As hospitals nationwide take precautions against what is expected to be a frantic flu season, some are requiring seasonal flu shots for the first time, saying that the safety measure is as essential as scrubbing up before surgery.
For years, public health officials have bemoaned the relatively low rates of health care workers who receive an annual flu vaccination - some federal estimates are as low as 42 percent. But cajoling staff with perks and giveaways hasn't worked, health officials say.
Hospitals fear that workers who refuse to be vaccinated will leave their patients and colleagues at risk. And this year, with the swine flu pandemic spreading swiftly across the country, well-staffed hospitals with healthy workers will be vital.
"It's the single best thing we can do to save lives," said David Noe, vice president of corporate human relations for MedStar Health, which is requiring seasonal flu shots for all 26,000 of its employees, among them those at six Baltimore-area hospitals, including Union Memorial Hospital and Franklin Square Medical Center. The directive applies not only to nurses, doctors and others with direct patient contact, but also to janitors, contract workers and business staff.
Nearly one-third of Maryland hospitals require employees to get seasonal flu shots, and of those who don't, half are considering doing so, according to a recent Maryland Hospital Association survey. While nearly all allow exemptions to employees for religious or medical reasons, hospitals are requiring doctors' notes and signed forms documenting that an employee has declined.
Employees who do not comply with the new mandates could face disciplinary action - from written warnings to termination. In some settings, those who have not been vaccinated but work directly with patients must wear masks and protective clothing.
So far, the mandates are restricted to the seasonal flu vaccine.
Meanwhile, hospitals are strongly encouraging - but not requiring - vaccination against swine flu. Some hospital officials in the Baltimore area said they understand the skittishness about the new vaccine and do not want to confront an ethical dilemma by requiring it. Others said they didn't know when they would get enough supply.
Elsewhere, Nashville, Tenn.-based Hospital Corporation of America has made seasonal flu shots a requirement for employees at its 163 hospitals in 20 states. In New York, the state Health Department took the bold step of becoming the first in the nation to require all hospital, home health and hospice workers to get seasonal and swine flu vaccinations.
But some health care workers are furious about the new rules - and the threat of losing their jobs. In New York, workers launched loud protests and a lawsuit to reverse the edict. On Friday, a judge temporarily halted enforcement of the policy, amid heightened tensions and heated debate over the ethics of such a rule. Terence Kindlon, the attorney for the three nurses who filed the lawsuit, called the matter a civil rights issue and has said that his clients are not radicals, they simply do not think the vaccine will be good for them.
The gradual move toward mandatory influenza vaccinations kicked into high gear with the H1N1 threat, said Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of the department of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tenn.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strongly recommends seasonal flu vaccines for health care workers and places medical staff among the five priority groups for the swine flu vaccine. And recently, the Infectious Disease Society of America, where Schaffner is a board member, recommended mandatory vaccination for health care workers against both viruses.
People outside the health care community find it "absolutely shocking and surprising that more health care workers do not get vaccinated," Schaffner said. "I am profoundly disappointed by my fellow health care worker colleagues."
Staff members who care for patients are routinely required to be vaccinated against measles and mumps, and are tested annually for tuberculosis. A flu shot is no different, Schaffner said.
At GBMC, all 3,700 staff members - from nurses and technicians to volunteers and executives - must get a seasonal flu shot by Dec. 4 or sign a form declining for medical or religious reasons. Those who refuse could face disciplinary action up to termination.
" 'I don't want to do it' is not a good enough reason," said Michael Forthman, GBMC's vice president for facilities and support services. "It's along the lines of wearing gloves and masks in an operating room; this is something you need to do."
Digg
Twitter
Facebook
StumbleUpon
What ever happened to personal freedoms in this "free" country? Are we all so ruled by fear that we can't stop and think for ourselves? I am a RN, I work in a hospital setting and I have never had the flu nor will I get a flu vaccine. Yes, some flu vaccines DO contain Mercury (neurotoxin),as well as formaldehyde (known carcinogen), antifreeze, aluminum (linked to seizures, Alzeheimer's, and causes cancer in mice) as well as various other chemicals. Don't take my word for it, do the research yourself. Do we really want to mandate that health care professionals MUST have this injected into their body against their will? Do we as a country really want to say that we know what is best for them and that our health care providers are not capable of making sound medical decisions?
RN4natural_health (10/19/2009, 12:04 PM )