Nursing

Inside best practice: Making the most of your flu outreach program

HCPro's Weekly Update on the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program®*, December 27, 2010

The employee flu shot clinics at Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury, MD, are part of a larger outreach project spearheaded by Peninsula Regional’s overall healthcare awareness program.

“It’s a multidisciplinary team,” says Karen Mihalik, RN, CIC, infection preventionist and member of Peninsula Regional’s flu team. “It’s a big effort and not limited to just employees.”

The program also includes family nights for flu shots and the incredibly popular “Drive-Thru” Flu Clinic for the community.

“The team has been ongoing for over 15 years,” says Mihalik. The other key aspect is, of course, connecting with the community. “We’ve been doing the Drive-Thru clinic for 17 years,” says Mihalik. It began as an extension of the mall booth concept. “We expanded from the booth due to a distinct need for flu shots,” she says.

At first, the Drive-Thru clinic was set up outside the hospital using the facility’s parking lot. The clinic has since moved down the road to Arthur W. Perdue Stadium in order to accommodate the increasing number of patients who show up.

“Last year we were just a few patients short of 7,000,” says Mihalik.

Source: This excerpt is from the December HCPro’s Advisor to the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program®.

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