Not all caregivers vaccinated

Step into a Creighton Medical Associates clinic, and you shouldn't have to worry about catching the flu from a nurse who skipped the vaccine.

Creighton University this fall issued a mandate to health care employees: Get vaccinated for the seasonal flu and H1N1.

Children's Hospital & Medical Center in Omaha took a similar step, requiring seasonal flu vaccinations for all employees this year.

The two health care institutions are exceptions. Other hospitals in the Omaha area and those in some of the state's largest communities do not require health care employees to be vaccinated for the seasonal or H1N1 flu.

Nationwide, mandates are becoming more common as hospitals and other health care providers take steps to keep patients safe from the flu.

Dr. Joann Schaefer, Nebraska's chief medical officer, said health care providers should consider making seasonal and H1N1 flu shots mandatory. She called Creighton's move “bold, brave and exactly what should be done.”

“Just as patients should expect surgeons to wash their hands before surgery, they should expect that their health care team is properly vaccinated,'' said Dr. Donald Frey, vice president for health sciences at Creighton University.

Creighton University Medical Center is not affected by the mandate, although many Creighton employees and students serve the hospital.

Hospitals in Nebraska and Iowa with voluntary vaccination policies said they encourage compliance by offering free shots and providing incentives ranging from pizza parties to discounted health insurance premiums. Creighton University and Children's also provide free vaccinations.

Those with voluntary policies cite high compliance among health care workers as a reason a mandate is unnecessary. Health care workers include doctors, nurses, therapists and others with direct patient contact.

For example, 92 percent of health care workers were vaccinated for the seasonal flu last year at the Nebraska Medical Center.

“They feel a personal responsibility,'' said Dr. Trevor VanSchooneveld, an infectious disease specialist at the Nebraska Medical Center.

But unless vaccination rates are 100 percent, health care workers are putting patients at risk, said Len Novick, executive director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.

About half of health care workers nationally get annual flu shots, a proportion long considered low for a group that should understand the potential risks of infecting patients vulnerable to complications because of their poor health. The percentage includes health care workers in nursing homes. The vaccination rate among hospital health care workers nationally is 63 percent.

Workers who don't get vaccinated cite reasons much like those the public gives, including “I never get the flu.”

The problem has drawn more attention this year because of concerns over H1N1, partly from worries that the virus could overwhelm hospitals if too many health care workers get knocked out by the flu.

The federal government identified health care workers as a priority group for the H1N1 vaccine. They also have been a target group for the seasonal flu vaccine.

Creighton's requirement affects all health care workers employed by the university and those at Creighton Medical Associates clinics. The requirement also covers medical students and other students with patient contact.

Nationally, such a requirement has prompted objections from employees, unions and others who consider it an infringement on personal rights.

A spokeswoman for Children's said the hospital has not heard objections .

Frey said a small number of Creighton employees have raised concerns. He said the university has told them that patient safety is the priority.

“What must come out on top is what's best for the patient,'' he said.

Contact the writer:

444-1122, michael.oconnor@owh.com

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