Although it may be perceived as a chore, there's a sizeable payoff to executives meeting with frontline clinicians now to assure them of their safety during an H1N1 swine flu outbreak.
Health First, Inc., based in Rockledge, FL, has begun conducting 30-minute "rap sessions" with employees at its various locations, during which top managers explain preparations and other information related to H1N1 response plans.
James Kendig, MS, CHSP, CHCM, HEM, LHRM, vice president of safety and security at Health First, is joining the system's infection control manager for 12 scheduled sessions, which are occurring throughout October.
"We believe a better informed employee will come to work [during an outbreak]" Kendig said, who will also present at HCPro's "Emergency Management Coordinator's Workshop" in Atlanta on October 26.
Other employee-based initiatives Health First has taken include:
- Developed a continuing medical education offering about H1N1 for medical staff members
- Created an online H1N1 toolkit, which includes information about prevention steps authored by Health First's infection control office, a PowerPoint presentation, and the system's vaccination plan
Research points to pandemic absenteeism
In a study published in the July 2009 issue of online scientific journal PLoS One by Daniel Barnett, MD, MPH, researchers surveyed more than 1,800 workers in public health departments in three states about their willingness to respond to a pandemic. The results may translate somewhat to hospitals: One in six respondents was unlikely to show up for work in a pandemic outbreak, regardless of severity.
Researchers categorized workers by their concerns for the community and confidence in their roles as effective caregivers. Employees who are concerned and confident are 32 times more likely to show than employees who aren't, and influencing that could be a key to getting your employees to show up for work, Barnett said.
"If they feel, first of all, that the threat is a significant enough one that they're needed—and that concern is coupled with a sense they can do what's being asked of them and it will make a difference—they are far more willing to respond," Barnett said.
Stick with the facts
Barnett offered the following tips for hospital CEOs based on his survey's respondents:
- Avoid giving false assurances about the level of employee protection against H1N1 or downplaying the threat. Give accurate, up-to-date information backed up by sources, such as local public heath officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Tell workers in detail what their job assignments would be should an outbreak occur. Respondents frequently indicated in the survey that they knew they'd have some role, but not specifics.
- Show employees the measures your hospital is taking to keep them safe (e.g., priority access to vaccines for workers and their families and adequate supplies of personal protective equipment).
Health First has also introduced a new visitor policy designed to limit the spread of H1N1 and keep employees safer within its buildings, Kendig said. Children ages 5 and under are not allowed to visit patients for the time being, and people with flu-related symptoms are asked to not come to the hospital unless they are seeking treatment.