Introduction Influenza vaccination of healthcare workers (HCW) has been recommended for over 30 years. In 2009, HCWs were designated as a priority group by the Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC). Current HCW vaccination rates are 78% across all settings, and reach approximately 92% among those employed in hospital settings. Over the last decade, it has become clear that mandatory vaccine policies result in maximal rates of HCW immunization. Methods This observational 10-year study describes the implementation of a mandatory influenza vaccination policy in a dedicated quaternary pediatric hospital setting by a multidisciplinary team. We analyzed 10 years of available data from de-identified Occupational Health records from 2009-2010 through the 2018-2019 influenza seasons. Descriptive statistics were performed using Stata v15 and Excel. Results Sustained increases in HCW immunization rates above 99% were observed in the 10 years post implementation, in addition to a reduction in exemption requests and health-care associated influenza. In the year of implementation, 145 (1.6%) HCWs were placed on temporary suspension for failure to receive the vaccine without documentation of an exemption, with 9 (0.06%) subsequently being terminated. Since then, between 0-3 HCWs are terminated yearly for failure to receive the vaccine. Conclusion Implementation of our mandatory influenza vaccination program succeeded in successfully increasing the proportion of immunized HCWs at a quaternary care children’s hospital, reducing annual exemption requests with a small number of terminations secondary to vaccine refusal. Temporal trends suggest a positive impact on the safety of our patients.
The issue of nonsonographers performing ultrasound exams is an extremely controversial subject within our field. The matter should not be just concerned with protecting turf, but should allow for the most effective manner of healthcare for patients. This article is not meant to endorse the practice of ultrasound education, it is meant to address the need for ultrasound education among emergency medicine physicians who are legitimately performing ultrasound exams.
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