All Entries Tagged With: "swine flu"

Vote for your favorite flu prevention commercial in HHS contest

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently put out a call for entries into its contest for a new public service announcement about preventing the spread of the flu. Now you can vote once a day on your favorite commercial out of the finalists chosen by HHS’ expert panel. Some of the clips are funny, some are straight and to the point, but all of them touch on the basics of infection prevention–namely by handwashing and practicing safe sneezing and coughing techniques. Some of the commercials also recommend that viewers get vaccinated for the flu. The commercials are not specifically for preventing the spread of H1N1, but various strains of the flu. Health officials expect the seasonal flu and H1N1 to together pack a decent sized punch–the WHO expects that within two years, one third of the world’s population will have caught the H1N1 virus. Certainly the messages contained in these videos could apply to preventing both types of the flu (although currently, only certain sectors of the population are being flagged to receive the H1N1 vaccine).

Voters have until September 16 to visit HHS’ YouTube channel and click the “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” icons on each of the finalists. The winner of the contest receives a $2,500 prize! This is a great way to get your fellow staff members into reminding patients about flu prevention techniques. So, vote on your favorite, mine is the clip below.  Although it’s a serious topic, I think that humor usually connects viewers with a subject more so than just straight facts.

Joint Commission sets new challenge for 2009-2010 flu season

In a follow up to its first ever successful Flu Vaccination Challenge, the Joint Commission has launched another challenge for the upcoming 2009-2010 flu season. The goal of the Flu Vaccination Challenge was to increase vaccination among healthcare workers to a rate of 43% or higher. That rate was based on a survey of healthcare workers from 2005-2006 about flu vaccination rates. Today the results of last season’s challenge were announced and 94% of participating hospitals met the goal, with 1.1 million healthcare workers being vaccinated.

For the next Flu Vaccination Challenge, The Joint Commission is asking healthcare facilities to push their staff members to be vaccinated at rates of 60,75, 0r 90%, depending on the vaccination rate for the facility was during the 2008-2009 season. The challenge is also being extended this year to healthcare workers in long term care and ambulatory settings.

The Centers for Disease Control recommends that all healthcare workers be vaccinated for the seasonal flu.

I’m curious- did any of your facilities participate in this challenge? How did you encourage your staff members to get vaccinated? The challenge is only for the seasonal flu, as opposed to the H1N1 virus, but I wonder if any sort of requirements concerning H1N1 vaccination will be addressed in the future?

You can find out more about this year’s challenge at www.fluvaccinationchallenge.com.

WHO publishes checklist for treating patients with H1N1

Although H1N1 has not been prominently featured on this blog, this checklist from the World Health Organization (WHO) caught my eye because it goes over important infection control and prevention techniques that should be used with every possible H1N1 patient that enters your facility. The WHO Patient Care Checklist: new influenza A (H1N1) released last month by the WHO, can be modified to fit any local practices your facility has also incorporated into treating flu patients. It was tested at facilities around the globe, including Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA.

For development of the checklist, the WHO sought advice from experts in:

• infection control
• clinical management of pandemic-prone Influenza
• health care checklists

To read more about the checklist, and to find a version written in Spanish, click here to go to the WHO’s Web site.

CNN is reporting that a vaccine for H1N1 will be made available in the U.S. by October. Today, secretary of health and human services Kathleen Sebelius spoke at a “flu summit” mandated by the Obama administration in an effort to launch a national campaign about H1N1. Experts worry that the flu will spread faster once the fall hits and the normal flu season begins.

To read more about today’s summit, click here.

Has your hospital struggled to prepare for an influx of H1N1 cases? Do you anticipate more training in the future?

Preparedness over panic: Are you ready for the swine flu?

In just a few days, the swine flu outbreak has spread from Mexico to the U.S. and throughout the world. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is tracking the disease’s path as cases are identified; as of this morning, 64 swine flu cases had been confirmed in the U.S., including 45 in New York City where students who returned from a trip to Mexico have spread it to others. In Mexico, authorities have reported 152 deaths related to swine flu . 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised its phase of pandemic alert to 4, which indicates human-to-human transmission. The WHO is warning governments worldwide to prepare for a pandemic because cases have been identified in New Zealand and Israel.

So what should hospitals do to prepare? Probably the best thing to do at this point is simply to watch the alerts and follow CDC guidance. The CDC has published new guidelines outlining measures to take to mitigate the swine flu and for infection control when dealing with swine flu cases.