From The Orange County Register
By Jenna Chandler / Staff Writer
Public health officials repeatedly say the best protection against the flu is the flu vaccine. That advice is especially important for caregivers who work in hospitals and could pass the bug on to patients, who could face deadly complications from contracting a virus.
But not every health care worker heeds that advice.
Figures released this week by the California Department of Public Health show that vaccination rates for the flu among employees varied greatly last flu season at Orange County hospitals, from 36.2 percent at Kindred Hospital Westminster to 98.6 percent at Children’s Hospital of Orange County. Countywide, the rate was 86.6 percent.
Both Kindred and CHOC treat vulnerable patients.
Kindred is part of a chain of hospitals that provides transitional care to patients who need long-term assistance, including with dialysis, rehabilitation and respiratory therapy. The hospital’s chief of operations in California, Brooke Saunders, said the vaccination figure is low because the campus houses regional administrative staffers who don’t come in direct contact with patients.
At CHOC, the importance of getting the flu shot is communicated to new hires during orientation, and when flu season rolls around the shots are available to employees directly in their work areas, spokeswoman Denise Almazan said.
“It’s part of our culture,” she said.
Some states mandate flu shots for health care workers, but California does not. It does, however, require the vaccines be offered for free to employees. Anyone who declines the shot must sign a form. Hospitals track that data and submit it to the state.
Some hospitals – CHOC and Kindred included – take the extra precaution of requiring non-immunized employees to wear masks during flu season.
“We also monitor our employees for illness, and if any employees exhibit signs or symptoms of the flu we would ask them to stay home until they feel better,” said Kindred’s Saunders.
Nationally, 64 percent of hospital employees got the flu vaccine last season. In California, 82 percent were vaccinated in counties that require masks for unvaccinated employees and 78 percent for those that don’t require masks.
Most workers who decline the flu shot say they don’t think the vaccines work, according to a nationwide survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last year’s flu vaccine was only about 23 percent effective against the virus. It’s typically about 60 percent effective.
The CDC survey also found that vaccination coverage was about 20 percentage points lower in hospitals that did not have policies requiring or recommending flu vaccination.
Highest employee flu vaccination rates
- Children’s Hospital of Orange County, 98.6 percent
- HealthBridge Children’s Hospital Orange, 97.1 percent
- UC Irvine Medical Center, 96.5 percent
- Saddleback Memorial Medical Center, 94.7 percent
- CHOC Mission, 94.5 percent
Lowest employee flu vaccination rates
- Kindred Hospital Westminster, 36.2 percent
- Kindred Hospital Brea, 46.8 percent
- HealthSouth Tustin Rehabilitation Hospital, 63.4 percent
- Fairview Developmental Center, 63.7 percent
- Anaheim Global Medical Center, 68.1 percent
Contact the writer: jchandler@ocregister.com or on Twitter: @jennakchandler
