Flu season quickly approaching

As flu season gets closer, plans for immunizing our employees are currently underway. Open clinics currently scheduled are:

• Thursday, Oct. 5, 7:30 to 11:30 a.m., Lower Storz Pavilion 1-4
• Friday, Oct. 6, 7:30 to 11:30 a.m., Lower Storz Pavilion 1-4
• Friday, Oct. 13, 2:30 to 6:30 p.m., University Tower Private Dining Rooms A, B and C
• Friday, Oct. 20, 3:30 to 6:30 p.m., Lower Storz Pavilion 1-4
• Thursday, Oct. 26, 10 a.m. to noon, East Campus Corporate Pavilion (ECCP) in the Mutual of Omaha Bank building, second level commons
• Friday, Nov. 10, 2:30 to 6:30 p.m., Lower Storz Pavilion 1-4
• Friday, Nov. 17, noon to 2 p.m., Lower Storz Pavilion 1-4
• Friday, Dec. 1, 7:30 to 11:30 a.m., Lower Storz Pavilion 1-4
• Friday, Dec. 8, 2:30 to 6:30 p.m., University Towers Private Dining Rooms A, B and C

Before you arrive for your flu shot, fill out a consent form by logging into the vaccination website. Bring your employee ID when you receive your vaccine.

Each year, we must report our vaccination rates to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services (CMS). Our goal is for 90 percent of our employees and health care providers to receive the influenza vaccine. However, all colleagues are expected to log in to the vaccination website and indicate that they’ve received the vaccine either through the organization or elsewhere, or provide a reason for declining the vaccination.

If you receive the flu vaccination at work, you should also report it to your primary care physician for your medical records. If you are a patient at Nebraska Medicine, it’s as easy as logging on to your One Chart patient account and sending a secure message including your immunization date to your provider using the “Ask a Question” feature. If you need to set up your One Chart patient account for the first time, you can do so by requesting a new account at the website.

Influenza vaccination is the single best way to prevent influenza. Health care providers have a moral and ethical obligation to provide safe care to their patients and to protect those who can’t protect themselves. It’s the right thing to do for patients and each other.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that all persons six months of age or older receive the flu vaccine. It is especially important for health care workers and those at high risk of complication including pregnant women, children under five years of age, persons aged 65 and older and persons with chronic medical conditions and those who care for them.

A list of frequently-asked-questions is available here.