Meeting the Challenge -Clinic Staff Get Seasonal Flu Vaccinations for the Health of Patients and the Community
January 18, 2012

 More than 30 family medicine clinics throughout the state met the health care worker 'Flu Vaccination Challenge' posed by the Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians (MAFP).

 The MAFP wishes to congratulate the family physicians of all participating clinics for meeting the challenge in order to keep themselves, their patients and the community healthy.

In September, managers of Minnesota’s family medicine clinics were sent a letter asking them to make an aggressive effort to get all health care workers vaccinated.  In particular, those clinics that were able to achieve a 95% or better vaccination rate among staff with direct patient contact by November 30, 2011, were awarded a certificate of achievement from the MAFP.  Clinics were asked to display the certificate in a public area so patients could see the steps the clinic staff had taken to assure their safety.  The ‘Flu Vaccination Challenge’  was developed in an effort to advocate for universal vaccination of healthcare workers against seasonal influenza through a “lead by example” program," said Glenn Nemec, M.D., a Monticello family physician and MAFP board member.  "The Academy recognizes that a cornerstone to flu prevention remains the vaccination of health care workers."

 

-30-

The Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians is a professional association of approximately 3,000 family physicians, family medicine residents and medical students organized to assist family physicians in providing quality medical care in Minnesota. The MAFP is the largest medical specialty organization in Minnesota and is a state chapter of the American Academy of Family Physicians, one of the largest national medical organizations in the United States with more than 103,000 members.