Flu shots available soon

With flu season approaching, it’s time to make plans to receive your immunization. Vaccinations for inpatient and clinic staff started earlier this month within their units. Open clinics are scheduled across the health network and are listed below.

As part of the flu vaccination process, colleagues who work in clinical environments are also expected to fill out their annual symptom review form for tuberculosis (TB). As of May, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) no longer requires annual skin testing for health care personnel, so the pink card is being replaced with an online questionnaire within the health tracking system.

Here are the scheduled times when UNMC/Nebraska Medicine employees can get their flu shots:

UNMC/Nebraska Medical Center:

• Thursday, Oct. 3 in lower Storz Pavilion, rooms 6-8, 10 a.m. to noon and 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.
• Friday, Oct. 4 in lower Storz Pavilion, rooms 6-8, 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m.
• Thursday, Oct. 10 in lower Storz Pavilion, rooms 6-8, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Friday, Oct. 11 in lower Storz Pavilion, rooms 6-8, 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m.
• Tuesday, Oct. 15 in University Tower, Private Dining Rooms A, B and C, noon to 2 p.m.
• Thursday, Oct. 17 in lower Storz Pavilion rooms 6-8, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
• Friday, Oct. 18 in lower Storz Pavilion, rooms 6-8, 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m.
• Tuesday, Oct. 22 in University Tower, Private Dining Rooms A, B and C, noon to 2 p.m.
• Friday, Oct. 25 in lower Storz Pavilion, rooms 6-8, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Thursday, Nov. 7 in lower Storz Pavilion, rooms 6-8, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Friday, Nov. 8 in lower Storz Pavilion, rooms 6-8, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Thursday, Nov. 14 in lower Storz Pavilion, rooms 6-8, 10 a.m. to noon and 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, Nov. 19 in lower Storz Pavilion, rooms 6-8, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Thursday, Nov. 21 in lower Storz Pavilion, rooms 6-8, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Bellevue, garden level, main foyer:

• Tuesday, Oct. 8, 1 to 3 p.m.
• Monday, Oct. 14, 7:30 to 9:30 a.m.
• Wednesday, Oct. 23, Noon to 2 p.m.
• Thursday, Nov. 7, 1 to 3 p.m.
• Friday, Nov. 15, 7:30 to 9:30 a.m.

East Campus Corporate Pavilion (ECCP), level two commons area:

• Wednesday, Nov. 13, 10 a.m. to noon and 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, Nov. 20, 10 a.m. to noon and 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.

Fill out consent form

Before you arrive for your flu shot, fill out a consent form by logging into the health tracking system. Bring your employee ID when you receive your vaccine. If you are older than 65, there will be high dose vaccine available at the clinics; be sure to let the individual administering your shot know that you prefer the high dose.

We are grateful to the nursing students and instructors from UNMC and Clarkson College who help administer the open clinics for our colleagues. This is an excellent opportunity to showcase our ITEACH values and give the students insight into what working at Nebraska Medicine could look like after graduation. Additional clinics have been added from last year’s schedule and times have been extended to ensure everyone can be accommodated. You may benefit from staggering the time you arrive from when the clinic begins to avoid backups at the start of the clinics.

Vaccination rate goal is 90 percent

Each year, we must report our vaccination rates to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services (CMS). Our goal is for 90% of our employees and health care providers to receive the influenza vaccine. However, all colleagues are expected to log in to the health tracking system 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 also should 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.

Immediate Care Clinics offer options

If you are unable to receive the vaccination at an open flu clinic or within your floor or department, Immediate Care Clinic locations will again provide flu shots, free of charge, for employees. Flu vaccinations will be available Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and weekdays 8 to 10 p.m. at Chalco, Bellevue, Eagle Run and Midtown locations. (Please note that they will not be available from 6 to 8 p.m. on weekdays due to high patient volume.) At Plattsmouth, they are available during daytime clinic hours (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

Immediate care clinics will have vaccinations on hand, including high doses for individuals 65 and older. Colleagues may bring their families to receive flu vaccines at the immediate care clinics. Family members will be billed through insurance or may pay cash for the vaccinations.

Addresses are listed below:

• Chalco Health Center – 8343 S. 168th Ave.
• Family Medicine at Bellevue Clinic – 2510 Bellevue Medical Center Drive, Suite 200, Bellevue
• Eagle Run Health Center – 3685 N. 129th St.
• Midtown Health Center- 139 S. 40th St.
• Plattsmouth Immediate Care Clinic – 1938 E. Hwy 34, Plattsmouth (daytime hours 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.)

Information on vaccination

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 CDC recommends 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 on the immunization information page within the vaccine tracking system.