# Presentation: 460227

## Influenza Vaccination of Health Care Personnel (HCP)

- John Kittredge, MD
- Chief Medical Officer
-  Tucson IHS Area

## HHS Initiative for Influenza Vaccination of HCP

- Improve HCP vaccination rates for the 2008-2009 influenza season
**Goal:**
- Reach the Healthy People 2010 objective of vaccinating 60% of all HHS HCP

## HHS Initiative for Influenza Vaccination of HCP:  Components

- Two components
- Improving HHS health care employee influenza vaccination with focus on
- Federal Occupational Health
- Indian Health Service
- U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Officers
- NIH Clinical Center
- CDC
- Promoting influenza vaccination to non-federal health care organizations and HCP

**Notes:**
The Department has begun an initiative to improve health care personnel vaccination

In addition, we are planning outreach to the non-federal community of health care personnel.

## HHS Initiative for Influenza Vaccination of HCP

- Three Focus Areas:
- 	1. Developing office and agency specific
-         strategies to improve HCP vaccination levels
- 	2. Measuring employee vaccination rates
- 	3. Disseminating a toolkit containing:
- Standard slide presentation
- Relevant articles
- CDC Posters
- Fact Sheets, Questions and Answers about influenza vaccine
- Vaccine Information Statements (VIS)
- Link to other web-based resources

**Notes:**
The internal HHS influenza vaccination effort has three focus areas:  
1) developing at least two specific office and agency strategies to improve vaccination levels, 
2) measuring employee vaccination rates, and 
3) disseminating a toolkit, that will include a standard slide presentation, relevant articles, CDC posters, fact sheets and  questions and answers about influenza vaccine   
    effectiveness and safety, and links to other web-based resources.  

## HHS Initiative for Influenza Vaccination of HCP: Outreach

**HHS will also promote Influenza vaccination of HCP nationwide**
**Healthy People 2010 target:  60% of all HHS HCP will be vaccinated annually by 2010**
**HHS plans to partner with many other organizations to promote HCP influenza vaccination **

**Potential partners include, but are not limited to:**
- American Academy of Family Physicians
- American Academy of Pediatrics
- American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
- American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
- American College of Physicians
- American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
- American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
- American Health Care Association
- American Hospital Association
- American Medical Association
- American Nurses Association
- American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
- Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc.
- National Black Nurses Association
- National Foundation for Infectious Diseases
- National Hispanic Medical Association
- National Hispanic Nurses Association
- National Influenza Vaccine Summit
- National Medical Association
- National Medical Association
- Service Employees International Union

**Notes:**
The second component of this HHS initiative is outreach to organizations such as the National Influenza Vaccine Summit, and the member organizations you all represent.  We really want to achieve the Healthy People 60% vaccination objective by the year 2010. 

## Support from Professional Groups

**Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)****1**** **
**Standard required for accreditation, effective 1/1/07**
**Influenza immunization offered on-site to staff and licensed independent practitioners**
**Infectious Diseases Society of America  (IDSA)****2**
**January 2007**
**Recommendation that U.S. adopt policy to include mandatory annual influenza vaccination among healthcare workers**
**American College of Physicians (ACP)****3**
**October 2007 **
**Recommendation that annual influenza vaccine should be required for every health care worker with direct patient care activities**
**National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID)****4**
**Call to Action recommendations and Best Practices for immunizing health care personnel against influenza**

**1**_[http://www.jcrinc.com/26814/audioconf/32205/](http://www.jcrinc.com/26814/audioconf/32205/)__, accessed 10/15/08_
**2****Pandemic and Seasonal Influenza Principles for U.S. Action, January 2007       ****3**_[http://www.acponline.org/college/pressroom/hcw.htm](http://www.acponline.org/college/pressroom/hcw.htm)__, accessed 11/13/07_
**4****http://www.nfid.org, accessed 05/15/08**

**Notes:**
A number of professional groups have also supported strategies to improve HCP vaccination rates.

For example, JCAHO’s infection control standard, which became effective 1/1/07 is a requirement for accreditation.  
This standard includes elements of performance:   
	- Annual influenza vaccination program that includes at least staff and licensed independent practitioners
	- Access to influenza vaccination on-site
	- Educate staff and licensed independent practitioners about the following: 
		• Flu vaccination 				 • Non-vaccine control measures (such as the use of appropriate precautions) 
		• The diagnosis, transmission, and potential impact of influenza
	- Evaluate annually vaccination rates and reasons for non-participation in the organization’s immunization program  
	- Implement enhancements to the program to increase participation

IDSA’s Pandemic and Seasonal Influenza Principles for the US, published in January 2007, include a recommendation that . . .

The ACP made a recommendation in Oct 2007 that . . . 

Finally, the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases has had a Call to Action program for several years, urging influenza vaccination of HCP, which they recently updated, and have added a list of best practices for such vaccination programs.

## IHS plan to monitor and promote HCP influenza vaccination

- All employees who work in an health care facility will be considered “health care personnel”
- Regardless of their job category
- Doctor		• Administrator
- Nurse		• Housekeeping
- Sanitarian		• Volunteer
- Contractors		• Clerical

## IHS plan for HCP influenza vaccination

- Develop guidance documents for I/T/U facilities on developing a system to track the vaccination status of HCP
- Compile 2 quarterly reports from each Area re: the % of HCP who are vaccinated
- Distribute information re: strategies to increase HCP flu vaccine to I/T/U facilities

## IHS plan, cont. Area Level

- Each Area identified an Area contact person
- Responsible for identifying a point of contact for each facility in their Area
- Responsible for collecting and aggregating facility data into an Area report
- Two reports will be collected
- Area reports are due to the IHS Immunization Program Manager on:
- January 29, 2009
- April 29, 2009
- For Area level guidance, see:
- _[http://](http://www.ihs.gov/PublicAffairs/NewsReleases/index.cfm)__[www.ihs.gov/PublicAffairs/NewsReleases/index.cfm](http://www.ihs.gov/PublicAffairs/NewsReleases/index.cfm)_

**Notes:**
Each of the 12 IHS areas will have an area contact person.

## IHS plan, cont.Facility Level

- Each facility should designate an employee influenza coordinator
- Can be an employee health nurse, infection control person, etc.
- Responsible for tracking and reporting vaccination coverage for the facility
- Two reports due to the Area contact person
- Area contact will send guidance information to each facility
- For facility level guidance, see:
- _[http://](http://www.ihs.gov/PublicAffairs/NewsReleases/index.cfm)__[www.ihs.gov/PublicAffairs/NewsReleases/index.cfm](http://www.ihs.gov/PublicAffairs/NewsReleases/index.cfm)_

## Resources

- IHS HCP Influenza Vaccination resources:
- 	_[http://www.ihs.gov/PublicAffairs/NewsReleases/index.cfm](http://www.ihs.gov/PublicAffairs/NewsReleases/index.cfm)_
- HHS HCP Influenza Vaccination:
- 	_[http://www.hhs.gov/ophs/programs/initiatives/vacctoolkit/index.html](http://www.hhs.gov/ophs/programs/initiatives/vacctoolkit/index.html)__ _