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Sleepy Eye Medical Center Recognized for Efforts to Protect Patients From Influenza
85 percent of facility's employees received influenza vaccination in 2010-11

Sleepy Eye Medical Center (SEMC) was among 137 hospitals and nursing homes from around the state recognized today by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) for achieving high influenza vaccination rates among the facility's employees during the 2010-11 flu season.

Eighty five (85) percent of the staff received influenza vaccinations during the inaugural season of the Minnesota FluSafe program. The facility received a red ribbon and certificate of achievement from Minnesota Health Commissioner Edward Ehlinger for its efforts.

“The safety and health of our patients is our first priority. Protecting them from influenza just makes sense,” said Trish Beilke, director of Infection Prevention, SEMC. ““We also want all of our employees to be as healthy as possible during flu season. We are very pleased to be recognized by the Minnesota Department of Health for our efforts. We will be working hard in the coming years to improve our influenza vaccination rate among employees.”

The FluSafe program aims to get 100 percent of all health care personnel at hospitals and nursing homes in Minnesota, except those with medical exemptions, vaccinated against influenza each season. According to state health officials, unvaccinated health care workers can pass highly contagious influenza to their patients, many of whom are at high risk for complications from influenza.

Of the 137 facilities that fully participated in FluSafe this year, 109 facilities reached vaccination rates of at least 70 percent. Of those, 27 reached vaccination levels of 90 percent or greater. There are 145 hospitals and about 400 nursing homes in the state.

“We're extremely pleased with the number of facilities that participated in this first year of the program,” said Kristen Ehresmann, director of the Infectious Disease Epidemiology Prevention and Control Division at MDH. “We're making progress in getting more health care workers vaccinated. Even among those facilities that didn't reach 70 percent, many showed significant improvement in their coverage rates.”

Under the FluSafe program, health care facilities receive guidance and access to tools and promotional materials from MDH and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help them increase their rates. The facilities record and document their vaccinations through MDH's electronic immunization information system (MIIC).
National rates of influenza vaccination of health care workers are estimated at 63.5 percent. Minnesota's rates are about 72 percent overall, as measured by MDH in 2009.

More information on the FluSafe program can be found on the MDH web site here

Dr. Harman Dhaliwal and Carrie Wellner, RN, Complete
Advanced Neonatal Resuscitation Instructor Program

Dr. Harman Dhaliwal, family practice/ob, and Carrie Wellner, RN, Sleepy Eye Medical Center, recently completed the Neonatal Resuscitation Instructor program. The Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) is an educational program jointly sponsored with the American Heart Association (AHA) that introduces the concepts and basic skills of neonatal resuscitation. The course teaches an evidence-based approach to resuscitation of the newborn to hospital staff who care for newborns at the time of delivery, including physicians, nurses and respiratory therapists.

“Having NRP Instructors on staff is vitally important to enhancing the services we provide to our community and is a critical element of our obstetrical and pediatric programs,” said Sue Schweiss, director of nursing. “We can now ensure seamless training of all those concerned with the health of a newborn child. This gives our team the comfort level of knowing that our skills are up-to-date, that every member of the team has received the same training, and we'll know how each other can work together to provide the best quality care.”

ALSO Instructor certification
In addition to the instructor certification of Dr. Dhaliwal and Wellner in NRP, Dr. James Joyce, family practice/OB, is a certified ALSO instructor. Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO) helps physicians and other health care providers develop and maintain the knowledge and skills they need to effectively manage potential emergencies during the perinatal period. ALSO emphasizes labor and delivery room emergencies but also covers:
·Prenatal risk assessment
·First-trimester bleeding
·Consultant relationships
·Helping parents cope with a birth crisis