It’s flu season and stopping its spread is your #1 priority to ensure continued employee productivity and positive patient outcomes. Here are a few strategies for you to employ to increase your odds.
Require the Flu Vaccine for All Staff
Many hospital-based home health agencies have strict guidelines concerning vaccination of employees, and several states have mandatory flu vaccinations for healthcare workers. If healthcare workers aren’t vaccinated, require them to wear a mask before entering a home.
IMPORTANT: Be aware of legal requirements if your agency decides to require the vaccine. For instance, when following a mandatory flu shot policy, be sure it allows for exceptions for employees who refuse due to religious beliefs. In a case filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) a Pennsylvania hospital was charged with religious discrimination for discharging six employees who refused in 2014 to comply with a mandatory flu shot requirement.
Hold a Flu Vaccination Clinic for Patients and Staff
Establish your own flu clinics to serve as a first line of defense. Flu clinics need to be coordinated and staffed, so be sure to identify someone to handle the effort. The CDC provides guidance and resources for hosting a vaccination. Find the resources at https://www.cdc.gov/flu/business/hosting-vaccination-clinic.htm.
Identify a Flu Vaccination Coordinator
Identify a flu vaccination coordinator or team with defined roles and responsibilities. This person can take charge of coordinating a flu clinic, distributing educational material and training employees on infection control practices.
Ensure Staff Stay Home When Sick
There are known shortages in healthcare, and sometimes clinicians go to work sick. Discourage this practice.
People with the flu are contagious one day before symptoms occur, and five to seven days after initial symptoms appear. Keep this in mind when staff contract the flu to ensure they don’t come back to work too quickly.
Encourage Patient Family Members to Get Vaccinated
For patients who can’t get immunizations, their families should get the flu vaccine to prevent the flu from spreading.
Educate Staff on Proper Hand Washing
This is a crucial element of infection prevention. CDC guidelines recommend scrubbing hands for at least 20 seconds.
Speak with staff about infection control and note that the final guidelines for the revised Home Health Conditions of Participation (CoPs) state that hand hygiene should be performed at a minimum:
- before contact with a patient;
- before performing an aseptic task (e.g., insertion of IV, preparing an injection, performing wound care);
- after contact with the patient or objects in the immediate vicinity of the patient;
- after contact with blood, body fluids or contaminated surfaces;
- moving from a contaminated body site to a clean body site during patient care;
- and after removal of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Remind Staff to Wear Protective Masks and Gloves
Train employees to use face masks and gloves when the patient is infected or has lingering symptoms to help prevent further spread of infections. Ensure clinicians and aides perform hand hygiene between glove changes.