Becker's Clinical Quality & Infection Control

16 INFECTION CONTROL & PATIENT SAFETY Firing of St. Louis nurse for violating mandatory flu shot policy sparks protest By Megan Knowles A nurse was fired for violating St. Louis-based Mercy Hospital South's policy requiring a flu shot, sparking a protest outside the hospital, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. e nurse was granted a religious exemption from the annual flu shot while working for St. Anthony's Medical Center, now Mercy Hospital South, before it was acquired by Mercy in 2018, according to the protest organizer. Demonstrators walked on the public sidewalk outside the hospital Nov. 28 to protest Mercy's mandatory flu shot policy, according to a KTVI report. It is unclear whether hospital employees were involved in the protest, but the demonstrators said they support employees who request exemption from the flu shot for religious or medical reasons. "at's the problem here: ey declined the religious exemption," said protest organizer Nelia Aubuchon, who would only volunteer that she is close to the fired nurse. Mercy started requiring flu vaccina- tions in 2016. e health system got 170 requests for medical or religious exemptions to the flu vaccine among its 44,000 employees in four states. Most of the requests were granted, but employ- ees whose exemptions the health system declined received notification the week of Nov. 25, according to a statement from the hospital. "The point of our flu vaccination policy is simple: Protection against the flu virus saves lives, especially those of our most vulnerable patients," the statement said. n Joint Commission: 9 ways to prevent flu transmission in hospitals By Mackenzie Bean T he Joint Commission is calling on healthcare organizations to help em- ployees understand their responsibility to protect themselves and patients from the flu in a Quick Safety advisory notice released Nov. 28. "Healthcare workers who usually skip a flu shot need to take a harder look at who they may be harming the most: their patients and co-workers," The Joint Com- mission said in the notice. Prevention is the best way to protect healthcare employees, patients and visitors from flu, according to The Joint Commission. The organization also shared the following recommendations to prevent flu transmission in healthcare settings. Healthcare organizations should: • Implement supportive, nonpunitive time-off policies to encourage sick employees to stay home from work • Make flu vaccines available to employees working all shifts to encourage compliance • Place tissues, masks and hand sanitizer at all facility entrances, along with "cover your cough" signs Healthcare workers should: • Get an annual flu shot • Clean hands frequently with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub • Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth • Clean and disinfect surfaces frequently • Stay home from work if sick or showing flu symptoms • Cover mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, and clean hands after handling tissues n UV disinfection linked to lower C. diff rates By Anuja Vaidya A study published in the American Journal of Infection Control examined whether the addition of an ultraviolet disinfection step after terminal cleaning can help reduce Clostridium difficile infection rates. Researchers used a quasi-experimental design for the study, using three units as intervention units and three as control units. The intervention units included two hematology and bone marrow transplant units and one medical-surgical unit at a U.S.-based teaching hospital. The intervention involved adding a UV disinfection step after terminal cleaning. Researchers found during the six months of UV disinfection, the C. diff rate in the intervention units was 11.2 per 10,000 patient days, as compared to 28.7 per 10,000 patient days in the control units. The intervention units also saw a reduction in vancomycin-resistant enterococci acquisition. n

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