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Partners HealthCare takes a new, rigorous approach to influenza prevention.
For the first time, the largest network of hospitals and doctors in the state requires its 74,000 employees to be vaccinated against the flu. Employees who do not receive the vaccine and have no good reason to skip it may lose their job, even if they do not work with or near patients.
Although Partners is not the first health care provider to impose immunization – other hospitals require influenza vaccines for employees working closely with patients – Partners' policy seems to be particularly strict.
The move is important because Partners is the largest private employer in the state. As a result, its policies are monitored by other companies in the health sector and in other areas.
The new partner policy, which came into effect this fall, seems to work. At last count, 99% of employees had been vaccinated or had been granted a waiver for religious or medical reasons, Partners officials said this week.
The policy applies to hospital employees and the thousands of people living in Partners' large office in Somerville. Although most Somerville employees do not work directly with patients, they can connect with patients who have health problems and pass them on to colleagues who see them regularly.
"If you are able and stay reluctant to protect yourself and our patients [from the flu]you probably should not be working in the health sector, "said Dr. Gregg S. Meyer, clinical lead for Partners. "I sincerely hope that nobody will lose his job because of that. . . . We will do everything we can to convince people. "
The last influenza season broke records. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 900,000 Americans have been hospitalized and more than 80,000 died of the flu last season.
The effectiveness of the influenza vaccine varies – last season, it reduced the risk of disease by 40% – but medical experts say it's much better than no defense at all. The CDC recommends vaccination for almost everyone 6 months and older.
"My expectation is that we do not put anyone in danger in the community," said Meyer. "To ensure that we are all vaccinated is not acceptable."
Partners is the parent company of Massachusetts General, Brigham and Women's and several other hospitals. The company's new rules are modeled on the mandatory vaccination policy put in place at Brigham last year.
The Massachusetts Nurses Association filed a lawsuit to try to stop Brigham's policy, but the union's case was rejected by the Suffolk Superior Court in March.
Brigham spokesperson, Lori Schrothfive employees were fired for failing to get the flu shot last season: three administrative officers, a research coordinator and a health technician. She said that 98% of employees had received the vaccine last season, while 2% had benefited from exemptions.
According to a spokesman for the union, the nurses' union remains concerned about the compulsory vaccination policy, but does not plan any further legal proceedings.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is asking hospitals and other health care facilities to offer free flu shots to employees and to find out how many employees are being vaccinated.
Health facilities have worked to increase their vaccination rates. According to the Department of Public Health, 94% of Massachusetts hospital workers were vaccinated during the last influenza season. This represents a significant increase from only 53% of hospital employees vaccinated 10 years ago.
The Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, an industry group, supports policies that require all health care workers to be vaccinated. Several hospitals have already made vaccination mandatory for employees working directly with patients.
The Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center requires influenza vaccination for "all employees and physicians who have contact with patients." Since the policy was put in place in 2012, two employees have resigned or been fired for non-compliance, said spokeswoman Jennifer Kritz.
The Boston Children's Hospital introduced a mandatory vaccination policy in 2010 for all workers with access to patient care areas, but hospital officials refused to say whether they had dismissed some of the patients' areas of care. one for refusing the vaccine.
All Boston Medical Center employees must be vaccinated. Those who are not vaccinated and who do not receive an exemption are required to be absent from work without pay until they comply with the policy. Spokesman David Kibbe said the hospital officials were working with all the employees to ensure compliance and did not send anyone back for refusing the vaccine.
Some hospitals have more lenient policies that allow employees to refuse the vaccine. But even in these cases, employees are usually required to wear masks when they are in patient-only areas.
Martin W. Healy, senior legal counsel at the Massachusetts Bar Association, said that hospitals imposing immunizations on their workers must provide exemptions, otherwise they may face prosecution for discrimination.
"There must be procedures and policies in place. . . to provide reasonable accommodation for workers who can not get the vaccine for one reason or another, "said Healy.
The flu season is on the horizon. Influenza cases generally increase from December to February, according to the CDC.
Priyanka Dayal McCluskey can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @priyanka_dayal.
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