Talking Points for FluSafe Facilities
2015-16 Season
General
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Health care workers can potentially spread influenza to their patients. One way to help protect patients from
the harmful effects of flu is to vaccinate the people who provide care for them. Our facility has vaccinated health
care workers for many years, but we’ve recently increased our efforts by participating in the FluSafe program.
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FluSafe is a voluntary program run by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). We’ve chosen to go the extra
mile and participate in FluSafe to show our community how much we care about protecting our health care
workers and their patients from the flu.
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The FluSafe program celebrated its sixth year in 2015-16.
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Participating in FluSafe requires our facility to use the state’s immunization information system, the Minnesota
Immunization Information Connection (MIIC). Participating in MIIC helps our facility maintain best practices for
immunization services and documentation.
Highlights in Your Facility (use as applicable)
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We ensure that our facility is following best practice guidelines for flu vaccination. The nurses administering
vaccine to our health care workers are refreshed every year on administration techniques, and we follow strict
storage and handling procedures to ensure that our vaccine is viable.
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To raise our vaccination rates to the highest possible level, we:
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Provide free vaccine to our employees and their families
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Provide vaccine on all shifts
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Use a mobile cart, so employees don’t need to leave their workstation
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Give an incentive to employees getting vaccinated
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Set a new and higher vaccination goal every year
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Have all employees sign a declination form if they choose not to be vaccinated
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Have 1 to 1 counseling available for employees who have questions about the flu vaccine
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Have a competition between departments
Our leadership strongly supports influenza vaccination as a part of our facility’s commitment to keep our
patients safe from this serious infection.
www.mdhflu.com (8/16)