LEWISTON — Local hospital workers and volunteers must get flu shots or wear masks during flu season if they’re going to be around patients.

Central Maine Medical Center and St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center recently changed their policies based on new national recommendations. Some other hospitals have already made the change or are considering it. 

The goal: to reduce the chances that patients — vulnerable because they’re already sick or injured — will get the flu from health-care workers. 

“The health and safety of our patients is our priority,” said St. Mary’s spokeswoman Jennifer Radel. “If we’re taking care of our patients, we have to make sure we’re not doing more harm than good.”

Although many hospitals have long had voluntary flu vaccination programs, the American Hospital Association in July recommended they create universal flu vaccination programs, requiring shots for anyone who has contact with patients and masks for those who don’t get shots.

CMMC maintained a voluntary flu-shot policy for years. A couple of years ago, nearly 90 percent of workers got the shots. But last year, compliance dropped to 62 percent because workers were concerned about the shot that combined H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccines for the first time.

In an effort to boost its vaccination rate back to 90 percent or above, the hospital decided to implement the American Hospital Association’s recommendations this year. Everyone who works with patients — whether they’re doctors or volunteers delivering flowers to patients’ rooms —  must comply.

“We still feel employees have the right to choose,” said Susan Hamel, director of employee health and wellness for CMMC. “We have those employees who have medical conditions that prevent them from taking the vaccine, but we still wanted to protect the patient.”

Reaction, so far, has been mixed. Many workers and volunteers have been unfazed by the new policy. Others don’t like it.  

“We’ve had a lot of people responding, saying, ‘Well, that’s just your way to push me to get the vaccine,'” Hamel said. “And we kind of qualify that and say, ‘No. It’s still your choice, but understand this is the stance we feel we have to take to protect our patients. So you still have the choice for vaccine — of course we strongly recommend vaccine — but if you’re not able to or not willing to, then this is the requirement you’re expected to follow.'”

Although CMMC and St. Mary’s are among the most recent hospitals in Maine to require flu shots or masks, they aren’t the first. MaineGeneral Medical Center’s facilities in Augusta and Waterville began requiring shots and masks three years ago in the wake of the first H1N1 outbreak. Many groups, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, strongly recommended vaccines at the time and seemed to be moving toward suggesting mandatory vaccines for health-care workers.  

“We were just thinking, ‘This is the way the CDC will go,'” said Barbara Quinby, director of MaineGeneral’s Center for Employee Health Services. “We were sort of trying to stay ahead of the game. And plus, with H1N1 being such a serious illness at that time, we really wanted to protect our patients, our employees and our families and our communities.”

In the years since, MaineGeneral has seen an 85 percent vaccination rate.

“People accept that that’s our policy,” Quinby said.

Other Maine hospitals are considering similar policies, including Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor and Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington.

Maine Medical Center in Portland, the state’s largest hospital, considered such a policy in the past, but it was pleased with its employee vaccination rate and decided to stick with its voluntary program. However, spokesman John Lamb said, the hospital continues to participate in statewide discussions about the issue. 

For now, patients will see little change at the hospitals that require the shots. Employees and volunteers are getting free vaccinations. Once the flu hits the area — usually around December — those who didn’t get shots will be expected to wear masks when working around patients.

“Our patients come here to get better,” CMMC’s Hamel said. “The last thing you want is to have a patient come to you for help and care, and end up harming them because you didn’t get your vaccine.”

ltice@sunjournal.com

Copy the Story Link