Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Blogs
    • AI
    • Deals
    • Layoff Tracker
    • HIMSS 2023
  • Opinion
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
      • - Leaders to Watch
    • Women in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Women Leaders
      • - Women to Watch
    • Digital Health Transformation Summit
    • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - AI and Digital Health
    • - Future of Staffing
    • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
  • Data & Insights
    • Data & Insights Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Providers
February 01, 2019 11:00 PM

Long-term care providers adopting mandates to increase workforce flu vaccination rates

Steven Ross Johnson
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    Just as the severity of the flu varies from one season to the next, so too have vaccination rates among healthcare professionals over the past decade.

    Coverage rates among healthcare personnel only started increasing steadily over the past five years as the industry more forcefully stressed the importance of prevention among its workforce.

    One constant however is that the highest vaccination rates can be found among hospital workers, at above 80% since 2010, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    Consistently at the other end of the spectrum have been healthcare personnel in long-term care facilities such as nursing homes, where staff vaccination rates have been the lowest among all healthcare professionals at under 70%.

    That disparity was well known to Deborah Visconi in 2017 when she became CEO of Bergen New Bridge Medical Center in Paramus, N.J.; it's the largest hospital in the state by beds and has 2,200 employees as well as the state's largest licensed nursing home.

    Immediately after taking over, Visconi launched a campaign aimed at raising the New Bridge workforce's 40% vaccination rate. “My mission was that we want to protect the health and well-being of our staff, and we want to protect the health and well-being of our patients and residents,” Visconi said. “This is one of those things that's almost a no-brainer.”

    During the 2017-18 flu season the vaccination rate for New Bridge staffers hit 60%, and then reached 90% compliance for the current flu season, higher than the average of around 84% among New Jersey providers.

    Visconi said she began the campaign by reaching out to all seven labor unions representing New Bridge employees and urged them to partner with her on developing a strategy that included offering prizes to departments that were first in getting all their employees vaccinated.

    “I would walk around and make rounds, and if somebody didn't have a flu shot I would talk to them and ask them why to try and alleviate their concerns or answer their questions,” Visconi said. “I wanted to approach this by using the silk glove instead of the stick.”

    Those who choose not to get a flu shot are required to wear a mask. Visconi feels her approach helps employees to view it as more than a requirement of the job but rather part of a culture change that prioritizes engagement and accountability.

    During the 2017-18 flu season, vaccination coverage was 94% among healthcare personnel working in settings where vaccination was required. Yet only 44% of healthcare personnel reported having a requirement to get vaccinated, according to the CDC, with such policies most common in hospitals, at 68%, while only 29% of those working in long-term care facilities reported such requirements.

    But like New Bridge, the concept of flu vaccination requirements has begun to catch on among long-term care providers seeking to reverse the trend of low flu vaccination among their workforce.

    Kennett Square, Pa.-based Genesis HealthCare, with 400 skilled-nursing centers in 29 states, was one of that industry's early adopters of mandatory flu vaccinations. The company imposed its policy five years ago requiring all care staff to either get a flu shot or wear a mask—with no exceptions.

    “We deliberately decided not to get into any sort of evaluation of people's reasons for declining to be vaccinated,” said JoAnne Reifsnyder, executive vice president and chief nursing officer at Genesis. “We don't ask—whatever the reason is, that's up to them.”

    RELATED STORIES:

    Predictive analytics may ease the burden of flu outbreaks

    Data Points: Tracking the flu

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    Rob Allen Intermountain 23
    Intermountain's Graphite Health may be AI 'grounding point,' CEO says
    Nursing home wheelchair
    4,000 Michigan nursing home beds at risk in proposed staffing mandate
    Most Popular
    1
    CMS tries luring providers to revamped Medicare ACOs
    2
    Oregon joins other states in setting ratios for nurse staffing
    3
    Blue Shield CA taps Amazon, Mark Cuban, CVS for new PBM model
    4
    A health innovation hub grows in Lake Nona Medical City
    5
    Hospital-at-home providers push for Medicaid coverage
    Sponsored Content
    Modern Healthcare A.M. Newsletter: Sign up to receive a comprehensive weekday morning newsletter designed for busy healthcare executives who need the latest and most important healthcare news and analysis.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Help Center
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Blogs
      • AI
      • Deals
      • Layoff Tracker
      • HIMSS 2023
    • Opinion
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Excellence in Governance
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
        • Top Innovators
        • Diversity in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
          • - Leaders to Watch
        • Women in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Women Leaders
          • - Women to Watch
      • Conferences
        • Digital Health Transformation Summit
        • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - AI and Digital Health
        • - Future of Staffing
        • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
      • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
    • Data & Insights
      • Data & Insights Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing