Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota received the Immunization Excellence Award on 30 March 2009 at the National Influenza Vaccine Summit in Dallas, Texas. The award is co-sponsored by the American Medical Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mitch Rothholz, National Influenza Vaccine Summit Executive Committee Member and Awards Committee Chair, said, “These awards recognize champions within the immunization community who are making a difference within their communities. Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota’s program integrated many elements and stakeholders to achieve a growth in the number of healthcare worker vaccinations and will serve as a best practice model for others.”

Patricia Stinchfield, CPN, director of pediatric infectious disease at Children’s, said. “Healthcare professionals can transmit influenza to vulnerable children up to two days before showing any signs that they are ill. Influenza can be fatal to some patients, such as infants who are too young to be immunized, or patients with suppressed immune systems. That’s why Children’s works so hard to limit exposure of influenza to children at the hospital.” In 2008, the program helped increase the hospital’s employee immunization rate to 74 percent, a 10 percent increase from the previous year. Children’s promotes the immunization program through newsletters, personal letters, presentations to workers, computerized tracking programs, and public postings of departmental vaccination rates.

(PRNewswire, 26 March 2009)