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H1N1 Vaccinations Begin at Hospitals
Reported by: Meghan Backus
Wednesday, Oct 14, 2009 @04:20pm EDT
The H1N1 vaccination process is underway. Highland Hospital received 1,000 doses of the nasal spray. It got 500 doses of the shot. Other hospitals have also received doses, but workers at Highland are the first to get the vaccine, whether they like it or not.
They are on the front lines at Highland Hospital. And Wednesday, emergency department employees became some of the first to receive H1N1 vaccines.
?Two sprays up each nostril,? said Erin McGruder, a nurse practitioner. ?(It) takes about five seconds.?
She says it is her responsibility as a health care worker to be protected.
?We're exposed to sick people all the time, and we don't want to be out sick because we need to take care of sick people,? McGruder said.
She did not have a choice anyway. New York State mandated all healthcare workers in hospitals get vaccinated by Nov. 30.
At Highland, close to 2,100 employees will have to comply or face losing their jobs.
?Though I wasn't the one to make it a mandate,? said Dr. Mark Shelly, an infectious disease doctor at Highland. ?I'll make it as easy as possible for our staff to be vaccinated."
Shelly says some workers are unwilling to get the vaccine. But he says he thinks it's safe. And better for patients if healthcare workers get vaccinated.
?We want to make our staff as resistant to that as possible to keep our patients as safe as possible,? he said.
Currently, the hospital has 1,000 doses of the nasal spray vaccine ready to give. Staff expects more of the shot version soon.
?We aren't sure when we're receiving those shipments although government says they'll be coming weekly and ramp up quickly,? said Vivian Condello, the nurse practitioner manger of employee health services.
But employees like Nathan Priddy are already seta and say they are better suited to serve the community.
?One, its helpful for me, two, its also safer for patients and I'm not passing on illness,? he said.
Healthcare workers are among the first who will be receiving the vaccine because they're most at risk of spreading the H1N1 flu. There is a lawsuit pending to stop the mandated vaccinations for healthcare workers.
As for the public, health officials say there will be clinics once more vaccine comes in. That is expected to happen later this month.
http://rochesterhomepage.net/content/fulltext/?cid=126161
Reported by: Meghan Backus
Wednesday, Oct 14, 2009 @04:20pm EDT
The H1N1 vaccination process is underway. Highland Hospital received 1,000 doses of the nasal spray. It got 500 doses of the shot. Other hospitals have also received doses, but workers at Highland are the first to get the vaccine, whether they like it or not.
They are on the front lines at Highland Hospital. And Wednesday, emergency department employees became some of the first to receive H1N1 vaccines.
?Two sprays up each nostril,? said Erin McGruder, a nurse practitioner. ?(It) takes about five seconds.?
She says it is her responsibility as a health care worker to be protected.
?We're exposed to sick people all the time, and we don't want to be out sick because we need to take care of sick people,? McGruder said.
She did not have a choice anyway. New York State mandated all healthcare workers in hospitals get vaccinated by Nov. 30.
At Highland, close to 2,100 employees will have to comply or face losing their jobs.
?Though I wasn't the one to make it a mandate,? said Dr. Mark Shelly, an infectious disease doctor at Highland. ?I'll make it as easy as possible for our staff to be vaccinated."
Shelly says some workers are unwilling to get the vaccine. But he says he thinks it's safe. And better for patients if healthcare workers get vaccinated.
?We want to make our staff as resistant to that as possible to keep our patients as safe as possible,? he said.
Currently, the hospital has 1,000 doses of the nasal spray vaccine ready to give. Staff expects more of the shot version soon.
?We aren't sure when we're receiving those shipments although government says they'll be coming weekly and ramp up quickly,? said Vivian Condello, the nurse practitioner manger of employee health services.
But employees like Nathan Priddy are already seta and say they are better suited to serve the community.
?One, its helpful for me, two, its also safer for patients and I'm not passing on illness,? he said.
Healthcare workers are among the first who will be receiving the vaccine because they're most at risk of spreading the H1N1 flu. There is a lawsuit pending to stop the mandated vaccinations for healthcare workers.
As for the public, health officials say there will be clinics once more vaccine comes in. That is expected to happen later this month.
http://rochesterhomepage.net/content/fulltext/?cid=126161
