Evaluation Of The Department At My Job

"To continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value” (Jointcommission.org, 2015). These requirements are regimented in the National Patient Safety Goals and are enforced via surveys and internal inspections to ensure that healthcare institutions abide by the safety mechanisms put in place to facilitate the optimal patient outcomes and environments.

Influenza results in excess of two hundred thousand hospitalizations in the United States (Tosh & Jacobson, 2010). Mortality rates for influenza related illness have risen. The purpose of this paper is to discuss mandated healthcare influenza vaccination in healthcare workers and will examine a Cochrane review summary, mandated healthcare influenza vaccination, and healthcare worker immunization practices in a Veterans Affairs Health Center.

Health care governments have endorsed an assortment of vaccination policies and mediations to safeguard against the known dangers of influenza communication, with longer patient stays, absenteeism, intermissions in health care, and death. Studies assessing the consequence of health care workers vaccination found that health care workers influenza vaccination was linked with a decrease in patient death (Murana, 2014). Assessing the results of health care worker influenza vaccination on patient results anticipated that if all health care workers were vaccinated, patient influenza infections could be stopped.

With influenza vaccination rates remaining low in the HCP population, there has recently been an increased emphasis on improving vaccination rates among HCPs. Low influenza vaccination rates have caused many healthcare facilities to initiate and mandate employees to receive the influenza vaccine. Research has proven to reduce morbidity and mortality among patients in healthcare facilities as well as decrease illness and absenteeism among HCPs (Sickbert & Weber, 2013). For these reasons multiple professional organizations are recommending an annual influenza vaccine for all HCPs, if medically suitable for this vaccination. Requiring a physician waiver for non-suitable HCP, all non-suitable HCP are expected or required to wear a mask in direct patient care areas.

As employees and health care works of well known organizations, we have an ethical and moral obligation to make decisions and choices that reflect the best interest of the health of our patients. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (2010), mandatory programs should be enforced for health professionals justifying the need for employees to receive the influenza vaccine. The Joint Commission believes that an estimated 80% or higher of influenza immunization rates are crucial for providing the necessary immunity needed to protect and reduce influenza infections or health-related illnesses (The American Academy of Pediatrics, 2010). Voluntary programs consist of having the vaccine readily available for employees for no cost, providing staff with education on influenza prevention, and having

Will enforcing staff to comply with yearly flu vaccinations, and increasing patient education about the flu vaccination increase compliance in high-risk patients in health care facilities?

The problem can be better quantified by gaining understanding of the importance of receiving the flu vaccination. The manager of any health care facility should ensure that staff and patients, specifically those with a higher risk of contracting the flu, receives the yearly influenza vaccination. Health care staff that does not comply with yearly influenza vaccinations should be transferred to a unit with limited patient contact. High-risk patients who are not compliant with receiving the vaccine are to receive further education of the deadly effects associated with developing the influenza virus. In all patients it is imperative to provide proper patient

The Situation/Challenge: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of influenza (flu)-associated deaths in the United States ranges from a low of about 3,000 to a high of about 49,000, annually (CDC, 2010). Vulnerable populations—those with a compromised immune system, elderly, very young children, and critically ill—are especially susceptible to the influenza. (Poland, 2005). Pre-exposure vaccination is the most effective method of preventing influenza and influenza-related morbidity and mortality (Poland, 2005). However, flu vaccination is frequently contra-indicated for the vulnerable

By adopting these, a more familiar atmosphere can be created where a radiographer knows what is expected of him and who is he working with. This will help in minimizing the risk factor and improving efficiency(NHS National reporting and learning service 2008).( National Patient Safety Agency, 2009).

In the healthcare field, it is essential that workers receive the flu vaccination due to the potential to either become infected by a patient or unknowingly spreading the virus to the patient population. The state of New York requires that health care workers in not only hospitals but other medical agencies in the state “be immunized against influenza viruses as a precondition

Monitoring Flu vaccinations is one of our performance measures in my facility where beginning in the month of September to about March, you have what we call a clinical reminder that you have to complete every time you see a patient and this ensures that every clinician that opens this patients chart will have the opportunity to ask the patient if they have received a flu shot for the year and if not and encourage then to get one if they have not had it; The (CDC) encourages employers to make flu vaccinations compulsory in the workplace because it found that compliance among organizations with a mandatory vaccination policy was as high as 88.8 percent compared to 44.3 percent in organizations that did not; Although there are individuals

A 5 year study conducted at the Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, Washington required all healthcare workers to receive the influenza vaccine, only those whose religion or medical reasons were pardoned and required to wear a mask. Within the first year 4,588 (97.6%) workers out of 4,703 were vaccinated and influenza vaccinations were over 98% by then end of the second year. Less than .2% of the workers who were noncompliant left the Virginia Manson Medical Center (Rakita et al. 881-888). MedStar Health, a non-profit regional healthcare organization completed a similar survey during the 2009-2010 influenza season including 9 hospitals with approximately 25,000 healhcare personnel and 4,000 affiliated physicians, all healthcare personnel and affiliated physicians were given the chance for medical/ religious exemptions and anyone noncompliant was terminated. Healthcare professionals’ compliance (vaccinated and exempt) was 99.9%. The influenza vaccination rate among healthcare personnel was 98.5%. Only 0.01% of healthcare workers (9 full-time, 2 part-time, and 17 per diem employees) were terminated due to noncompliance. Overall, 93% of the affiliated physicians were vaccinated; 7 religious and 99 medical exemptions were granted. In total, 149 physicians (4%) had their admitting privileges suspended during the influenza season (Karanfil et al.

One possible outcome measurement strategy that will be utilized will be patient satisfaction surveys. These surveys are sent out after patients have been discharged from the rehabilitation hospital. The surveys consist of questions that cover the quality of care received by nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, dietary services, speech therapy, physician care, etc. The survey also covers the hospital itself, to include cleanliness, noise level and so on. These surveys will allow the quality management director to collect data on areas that need improvement and areas that are doing well. The areas that need improvement will show where training can be developed or new policies developed to assist with implementing new changes or making adjustments to the current changes.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) introduced five core competencies for healthcare professionals, to improve the United States healthcare system: provide patient-centered care, work in interdisciplinary teams, employ evidence-based practice, apply quality improvement, and utilize informatics (Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, 2003). IOM insists that should all five competencies are met, quality patient care can be achieved. Thus, healthcare organizations need to continually seek quality improvement in order to enhance patient care. The organization need to revamp their current charting system, in order to improve patient care.

Bay State Medical Center’s mission statement is to improve the health of the people in our communities every day with quality and compassion. This mission statement is very clear and I am sure that every hospital has this very same mission in mind for just being in the system of health care. Bay State Medical Center also has forecasts for the future of Health Care and look at themselves with a vision for the Hospital of the Future. This vision is named “Vision 2025” according to their online website and they look to the future of the hospital with goals of having surgical precision, robotics and patient simulation and how medical students will be trained. Currently every health system is looking at a