JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013 - Regional West Medical Center

JANUARY ● FEBRUARY ● 2013

Compiled by
| Jordan Colwell, MHA, BSN, RN
Contact
| Jordan Colwell, MHA, BSN, RN
P 308.630.1450
E Jordan.Colwell@rwmc.net
4021 Avenue B
Scottsbluff NE 69361
rwhs.org
Find us on
Facebook/RegionalWest

Table of Contents
Letter from the Editor 4
Shared Governance Council Chairs 5
Skin Care Note 6
Calendar of Events 6
Magnet Moment 7
Professional Developement 8
Safety Sense 10
Shared Governance 10
Shared Governance Updates 11
Service Excellence 12
Breakfast with Shirley 13

F. Jordan Colwell
F. JORDAN COLWELL, MHA, BSN, RN
Survey Preparedness/Magnet Coordinator
Welcome to the first Magnetic Times for 2013. I hope
you had a great holiday season and have your New Year’s
resolutions set and ready to achieve! First and foremost,
I would like to take this time to say thank you to Karla
Edwards for her submissions to the Magnetic Times. As
many of you know, Karla has left for a new opportunity in
her career. Best of luck, Karla!
The article I would like to draw everyone’s attention to is
“Put ‘Caring About People’ Back In Healthcare” by Gwen
Faust, MS, RN. There are two factors in health care today
that have made our jobs more demanding and time
consuming. They are increased regulatory and reporting
requirements which impacts the overall health of patients.
The article goes on to elaborate what caring looks like and
what caring does not look like.
What caring looks like:
When you administer a pain medication to a patient,
provide instruction on when the next dose is due, not
to wait if he or she is in pain, and most importantly,
encourage the patient to request the medication and
take it before the pain becomes intolerable and/or
unmanageable.
What caring does not look like:
A physician rounds and he informs the patient he or she
will be discharged that day. The nurse was not present
during rounds and has not been informed of the plan for
discharge. Therefore, the patient has to provide the nurse
with the information so that he or she can investigate.
The patient experience will create a lasting impression
about the staff and organization. What impression do you
want to create?
Yours in Health,
Jordan Colwell
4

2013 Shared Governance Council Chair and Co-Chair
Care & Practice Council Meets 3rd Thursday of each month in the Keith Room 2 to 3:30 p.m
Chair Janelle Schroeder, RN (Quality) schroej@rwmc.net
Chair-elect Brooke Borgman, RN (Cardiac Cath Lab) brooke.borgman@rwmc.net
Management Advisor Sarah Shannon, RN (Director of RCU and Float Pool) shannos@rwmc.net
Quality & Safety Council Meets 3rd Thursday of each month in the Keith Room 9:30 to 11 a.m.
Chair Liz Ossian, RN (3 East-Medical Oncology) ossiane@rwmc.net
Chair-elect Christy Jay, RN (Surgery) jaycca@rwmc.net
Management Advisor Margo Ferguson, MT (ASCP) (Director of Quality Resource) fergusm@rwmc.net
Nurse/Physician Council Meets 3rd Thursday of each month in the SB II 7 to 8 a.m.
Chair Paulette Schnell, RN (Community Health) schnelpt@rwmc.net
Chair-elect Sheli Goodwin, RN (Home Health) goodwis@rwmc.net
Management Advisor Nancy Hicks-Arsenault, RN (Director of ER, PCU, ICU) nancy.hicks-arsenault@rwmc.net
Evidenced-Based Practice Council Meets 3rd Thursday of each month in the Keith Room 3:30 to 5 p.m
Chair Alicia Kunz, RN (Education) alicia.kunz@rwmc.net
Chair-elect Carrie Herr, RN (Outpatient Surgery) carrie.herr@rwmc.net
Management Advisor Susan Backer, RN (Pt. Safety Officer/Clinical Nurse Specialist) backers@rwmc.net
Professional Practice Council Meets 3rd Thursday of each month in the Keith Room 12:30 to 2 p.m.
Chair Lenna Booth, RN (Cardiac Cath. Lab) boothl@rwmc.net
Chair-elect Nina Palomo, RN (Interventional Radiology) palomom@rwmc.net
Management Advisor Diana Baratta, RN (Director of Medical-Surgical Services) diana.baratta@rwmc.net
Night Shift Meets the fourth Wednesday of each month in the Monument Room.
Chair John Furman, RN (House Supervisor) furmanj@rwmc.net
Chair-elect Matt Blaylock, RN (ICU/PCU Staff nurse) matt.blaylock@rwmc.net
Management Advisor Stephen Matthews, RN (ICU/PCU) stephen.matthews@rwmc.net
5

Save the Date
Event Date Time Place
By Rachelle Noe, RN
Did you know there is pressure ulcer
prevention information in each patient
admission packet? This is patient [and staff]
education on how to prevent pressure ulcers
during their hospital stay. This information
is also useful after dismissal. So when your
patient or their family member asks you
for information regarding pressure ulcer
or pressure ulcer prevention, you have an
additional resource and can refer them to
their admission packet information.
The ‘Information on Pressure Ulcer’ fact
sheet includes:
• Risk factors
Residency Class Feb. 27 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Building 211/Harms
PLAS-Provider Course Feb. 26-27 7:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. South Plaza 1202
Trauma Nurse Core Course (TNCC) Feb. 21-22 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Building 211/Harms
Joint Commission Fair Feb. 27 7 a.m. to 12 noon South Foyer
Joint Commission Fair Feb. 28 1 to 5 p.m. South Foyer
Nurse/Physicians Council Feb. 21 7 to 8 a.m. Keith Room
Coordinating Council Feb. 28 8 to 9:30 a.m. Keith Room
Quality and Safety Council Feb. 28 9:30 to 11 a.m. Keith Room
Professional Practice Council Feb. 28 12:30 to 2 p.m. Keith Room
Care and Practice Council Feb. 28 2 to 3:30 p.m. Keith Room
Evidence-Based Practice Council Feb. 28 3:30 to 5 p.m. Keith Room
Night Shift Council Feb. 21 16:00-17:00 Goshen
Harms Advanced
Technology Center
APRIL 30
3 to 6 p.m.
6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
MAY 1
9 a.m. to Noon
• Prevention
• Interventions
• Referral to Wound Clinic (recently added)
Harms Advanced
Technology Center
APRIL 30
3 to 6 p.m.
6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
MAY 1
9 a.m. to Noon
To register:
RWHS employees please register on
Swank Health.
To contact:
For questions contact Alicia Kunz
Alicia.Kunz@rwmc.net
Speaker: Juli Burney
Multiple award winning teacher, humorist and author, Juli makes
an amazing connection with her audiences. She is able to entertain
with the ability of a headlining comedian while either motivating or
training with ease as a nationally recognized speaker. Juli has been
recognized by the state of Nebraska as Artist of the Year because of
her ability to help improve people’s lives through humor and effective
use of communication tools.
6
To register:
RWHS employees please register on
Swank Health.
To contact:
For questions contact Alicia Kunz
Alicia.Kunz@rwmc.net
Speaker: Juli Burney
Multiple award winning teacher, humorist and author, Juli makes
an amazing connection with her audiences. She is able to entertain
with the ability of a headlining comedian while either motivating or
training with ease as a nationally recognized speaker. Juli has been
recognized by the state of Nebraska as Artist of the Year because of
her ability to help improve people’s lives through humor and effective
use of communication tools.
She has worked in all 48 continental United States and Canada,
and has been commissioned by a variety of associations from the
National Endowment for the Arts to Fortune 500 companies to develop
training programs that stick. She has filmed for Showtime and
HBO, along with making numerous guest appearances on radio and
television programs. Her humor is insightful, delightful, universal
and enlightening.
EDUCATION
She has worked in all 48 continental United States and Canada,
and has been commissioned by a variety of associations from the
National Endowment for the Arts to Fortune 500 companies to develop
training programs that stick. She has filmed for Showtime and
HBO, along with making numerous guest appearances on radio and
television programs. Her humor is insightful, delightful, universal
and enlightening.

Magnet Moment | Nursing Peer Review 101
By Liz Ossian, BSN, RN
This year you may begin hearing about nursing peer review. Physicians
already have a process for reviewing their care, and nationwide, hospitals and
state nursing boards are increasingly implementing
peer review as a method for improving nursing care.
We should always be striving to improve the way we
deliver patient care, and nursing peer review is one
way we can be proactive in preventing future adverse
outcomes. Our ultimate goal is safe, effective, high
quality patient care.
The review process is easy to understand. Cases can be
identified through incident reports, risk management,
staff referrals, and so on. These typically include cases
in which the patient has an unexpected outcome,
requires transfer to a higher level of care, or other
unusual events.
Once a case is identified, a group of nurses will look at the medical record
to determine if nursing actions were appropriate for the patient. Was the
standard of care met? This involves looking at both system and individual
components to see if any changes should be made in order to improve future
care. Nurses involved in the case will be interviewed to fully understand the
events that occurred. By carefully examining the medical record and talking
to the nurses involved, this group will be able to identify opportunities for
improvement to prevent undesirable outcomes in the
future.
Example: Let’s say we have a patient who slowly
accumulates fluid over several shifts. Eventually
the patient is transferred to ICU because of cardiac
arrhythmia or respiratory distress. What could have
prevented this? Did we have an accurate list of their home
medications? Was the patient weighed at least daily? Was
I/O recorded according to unit policy? Did the nurse(s)
follow established routines and policies? There are
many questions that can be answered by looking at the
available information and perhaps new recommendations
can be made if we determine the event occurred in spite of
our established protocols. Safe patient care with positive
outcomes is what we all want!
If you are interested in becoming a member of the Quality and Safety
Committee or have any questions about nursing peer review, don’t hesitate
to contact me!
7

Specialty Certifications
Keara Brunner, RN
Certified Lactation
Consultant
Since I had the desire to
help people, I decided
to become a nurse at
a young age. It helped
that I didn't mind the sight of blood and having
four brothers, one of them was always getting
hurt. It probably also helped that nursing runs in
the family. My grandma was a nurse along with
my aunt, great aunts, and many cousins.
I spend a lot of my extra time helping with the
junior high youth group at my church. I also enjoy
reading books, going to the movies, watching
plays, snowboarding, and spending time with
friends and family.
I took my pre-nursing classes at Chadron State
College, then moved to Scottsbluff where I
attended UNMC College of Nursing and received
my BSN. After nursing school I was able to get
a job here at Regional West on 2 East-Ortho/
Neuro floor. I worked there for two years before
I transferred to NICU, where I have now been for
almost four years.
The thing I like about being a nurse is the
variety of people I get to meet and the people
I get to work with. But what I like most about
being a nurse is when you get to see how you
have helped someone—that you have made a
difference in someone’s life. I also like that I can
most days honestly say that I enjoy going to work
and look forward to my job.
I decided to get my certification mainly because
it was a requirement for my new job as NICU
lactation counselor. I did want to get the
certification and am very glad I did because
it has been very helpful, not only for my job in
the NICU but also with helping moms on the
postpartum floor, along with family and friends
who have had breastfeeding issues.
Some advice I would give new nurses would be
to encourage them to ask many questions and
remind them it will take time to learn things
because they won't know everything on their first
day as a new nurse. Respect the experienced
nurses because they can teach you a lot. The
most important thing to remember is you will
never know everything and there is always
something new you can learn.
Sundae Clay, RN
Certified Rehabilitation
Nurse
Laura Wolfe, RN
Certified Emergency Nurse
I was raised in Scottsbluff and married my high
school sweetheart. I
have two children, a
14 year old daughter
and a one year old
son. My hobbies
include camping
and fishing with my
family, four-wheeling,
and hunting. I
graduated from UNMC College of Nursing in
December 2001 with my BSN and worked in
Dialysis for the first five years of my nursing
career.
After doing a nursing internship at a Level I
Trauma Center in Tulsa, Okla., I realized that
emergency nursing was my true dream and it
just so happened that the ER here at Regional
West had an opening. The thing I love about ER
Continued to page 9.
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Continued from page 8.
nursing is the variety of patients we see and the
skills we use. We see all ages of patients, we see
illnesses (acute and chronic), injuries (including
trauma), and we are constantly being challenged
mentally by the split second life and death
decisions we are frequently required to make.
What I like most about being a nurse is being
given the opportunity to make a difference in
someone's life when they need it the most.
I decided to obtain my emergency nursing
certification in order to provide the best care
possible to our patients. I also think patients
recognize and appreciate when they know the
nurses taking care of them have gone that extra
mile and have worked hard to achieve certification
status.
If I could give a new nurse some advice it would
be to never stop learning and never lose your
passion for what you do.
9

Susan Backer
SUSAN BACKER, MSN, APRN‐CNS, ACNS‐BC
Patient Safety Officer/CNS
Think about your work responsibilities-what you
do on the job every day. What is your role at the
hospital? Is it direct hands-on care? Do you keep
the environment safe and equipment repaired? Do
you provide lab tests? Are you involved with coding
and billing? The reality is each of us has either a
direct impact or an indirect impact on the people we
serve – our patients.
Everything we do impacts the care and outcome of
the patient. We may work in different departments
but we are all here for one reason–our patients. We
may not see each other or directly communicate
with each other, but we are all part of a big team
that takes care of people’s health care needs. As
we move into 2013 we are going to learn more
about working effectively in teams, developing
cross monitoring skills, and learning more about
situational awareness and shared mental model.
In 2012 we began developing skills that helped us
put patients first, work together, and improve daily.
Now it’s time to put all that together and practice
working more effectively in teams.
We have a lot planned this year to help us work
better together. One activity is simulation, with a
team currently working toward that end. There are
two types of simulation, high fidelity and low fidelity.
High fidelity simulation is practicing a scenario
with the natural work team in the environment the
scenario would occur, using the equipment and
materials needed. Low fidelity simulation is didactic
learning using hypothetical situations where
participants are asked to describe a response to
the situation rather than respond. In simulation we
use the tools we’ve already learned, such as the
communication bundle, speaking up for safety, and
critical thinking.
Teamwork is the theme for 2013. I am excited to
be involved in the next steps of our safety culture
initiative.
Together Everyone Achieves More.
“Tell me and I will forget;
Show me and I may remember;
Involve me and I will understand.”
--Confucius 450 BC
10

Shared Governance Council Updates
Care & Practice Council
Fall Prevention Program "A" work day took place on Wednesday, Jan. 9 from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The goal of the workday was to design the
evidence-based procedures and protocols as well as begin the education plan for the Fall Prevention Program at RWMC.
Nursing Fatigue: The Council's recommendation is to hand off the project to the Evidence-Based Practice Council, who has an interest in this
topic. Janelle and Alicia met to discuss the transition and review materials including the literature summary and PICOT question. Thanks to the
EBP council for taking on this project and what great team work between councils!
Quality & Safety Council
Working on Nursing Peer Review. Developing recommendation for consideration. A draft policy has been developed. A pilot of the draft was
conducted with two cases. During the pilot some areas of improvement were identified and the council is working to address those. Feedback
from everyone involved in the pilot was extremely positive.
Nurse/Physician Council
The council is working to recruit some active physicians. We are struggling with attendance and will be working on strategies to improve.
In the process of determining what project the council will take on for 2012-2013 as well as some long-term goals. Considering a re-visit of SBAR,
handoff.
Evidenced-Based Practice Council
Working on a survey for staff about evidence-based practice and what support staff need from the council. The survey will include questions
about journal club. The council is working on a distribution plan. Please encourage your staff to participate in the survey process. Evidencebased
practice education classes have had low attendance the last year. Will be seeking input on how the revamp/revise the class to improve
attendance.
Have taken on the Nursing Fatigue project from Care and Practice.
Professional Practice Council
Wrapping up work on the clinical ladder recommendations. Will begin working on a recommendation for improvements to the Low Census
Policy as requested. Will also begin work on a social media statement. Will look into a concern brought forth about care conferences. The
concern being who can call or organize a conference. The council will be working with leadership on this topic.
Night Nursing Council
The first council meeting had six staff in attendance. The Chair-elect for this council is Matt Blaylock. Next meeting is scheduled for February.
John will continue to recruit members for this council.
► Continued to page 16
11

Karla Edwards
KARLA EDWARDS
Former Director Service Excellence
New survey questions
Three new questions were added to our patient
satisfaction survey in July. These questions, known as
the Expanded HCAHPS questions, focus on how well staff
transitioned the patient’s care from the hospital setting to
home or another facility such as long-term care.
The questions are:
• During this hospital stay, staff took my preferences and
those of my family or caregiver into account in deciding
what my health care needs would be when I left.
• When I left the hospital, I had a good understanding of
the things I was responsible for in managing my health.
• When I left the hospital, I clearly understood the
purpose for taking each of my medications.
Nationwide, approximately one in five Medicare patients
discharged from the hospital are readmitted within 30
days. That is in the neighborhood of 2.6 million seniors
and at a cost of more than $26 billion a year. As of
October 1 last year, hospitals are fined by Medicare
for excessive readmits. CMS has added the three
new questions to help hospitals pinpoint gaps and
consequently decrease the number of readmits.
What can you do?
1. Remember, discharge planning begins at admission.
Pre-admit, really. Ensure the patient is properly
informed and there has not been conflicting
information between the physician’s office and the
hospital. Tell the patient what he or she needs to ask
their physician prior to the procedure. Remember,
this is foreign to them and they don’t know what they
don’t know. They are relying on you to be the expert
and lead the way.
2. Explain the “why” to the “what” of their discharge
instructions. That connects the dots, making them
more apt to be compliant. It also helps them to
explain the details to their family and friends and
improves their understanding of their care once they
leave the hospital.
3. Look for teachable moments. Don’t try to cram
everything they need to know into the two hours
before dismissal. Every time you go into the patient’s
room, take the opportunity to go over something
they will need to know when they leave the hospital.
Giving the information in small doses will help their
retention. Don’t worry about repetition – that’s good.
4. Identify potential barriers. Why might the patient not
be able to care for himself or herself after leaving the
hospital? How can you help them overcome these
barriers? Assess patients for their knowledge, skill,
and attitude related to their continued care. Are they
in denial? Does it take two people but they live alone?
How can you help?
Our top box scores on these three questions from July
through October are 45.1, 56.5, and 62.1 percent
respectively. For example, what that means is 45.1
percent of our patients said we always took their
preferences in consideration when preparing for
discharge. By using the four tips, you can greatly improve
a patient’s chance of not having to come back to the
hospital in the near future, and improve our scores at the
same time.
12

January
Attending: Jackie Delatour,Michelle Dillon, Marcella Wildeman, Kathi Yost,
Shirley Knodel,
Questions, Concerns, etc.
| Talked about the Nebraska Legislature and what was up and coming with
Nurse Practitioners scope of practice.
| A clarification was requested regarding the rumors that the hospital is for
sale or has been sold. Shirley clarified that we are neither sold nor for sale.
She explained that all hospitals out of necessity are looking at ways to
contain costs, share costs, increase revenue. That in some cases means
partnering with other systems for services such as IT and that we are in
the beginning stages of exploring that. There was great interest among the
group to explore other IT systems due to dissatisfaction with our current
system.
| Talked about the UNMC Nursing student clinical rotations and the different
way these clinical rotations are structured now.
| Talked about the Leadership class at UNMC and spending time with
preceptors as part of the total clinical rotation.
| Talked about the discussion regarding the Governor’s proposal on state
income tax and state sales tax. There was sentiment among the group that
the state income tax is a barrier to recruitment of new nurses. There is also
concern that this does not result in cuts to healthcare.
| Discussed the IT challenges we have here at the hospital and what future
plans look like.
| Discussed the possibilities of loan repayment for students that are going to
school. Student works for Banner health and has tuition reimbursement as
follows: Part-time 2500 and full-time 5000. Also loan repament for newly
hired students.
| Discussed that one new nurse in OB was told in a class presentation from
HR that she would receive loan repayment as part of hire on and then
when she hired on in 2010 she was told by HR, “We no longer provide loan
repayment.” There was sentiment that loan repayment is a big recruitment
draw.
| Discussed the new nurse finance committee that will be part of our shared
governance model.
13

By: Alice Fillingham, BSN, RN, CEN
The Students Have Become the Teachers
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR GRADUATES! The newest members of
Regional West Medical Center’s Emergency Department and Intensive
Care Unit staff have completed their first Critical Care Transition Course.
These colleagues were either new graduate nurses or nurses new to a
critical care department. This pilot course was created by Linda Fowler
and Alice Fillingham with the guidance and encouragement of Director
Nancy Hicks-Arsenault and ICU/ED management teams. This 12 week
course was divided by systems and included lectures, case discussion,
and simulation.
Each course included a brief lecture on a system: what’s normal,
what’s abnormal, and what would one really not like to see? The course
objectives included combining real world application of what
could go wrong, what one could expect, and consideration of worst
case scenario. Lectures were followed by discussion of patients
with conditions pertaining to that week’s topic. This was especially
interesting as the ED staff could share their experiences and then ICU
staff could complete the patient’s story throughout his or her critical
care treatment. The case discussion with both sides of the story
assisted in painting a more complete picture for our new colleagues.
The experience also helped build departmental bridges. The final
portion of each week’s course included hands-on use of equipment,
troubleshooting, and simulation.
The hands-on equipment education was reported to be the most
valuable and we found some of our colleagues in the Critical Care
14

► Continued from page 14
Transition Course to be our super users for equipment in their
respective departments. We then asked these individuals to share
what they had learned with the staff at an equipment blitz. The
students became the teachers and did a fabulous job presenting to
the Critical Care Departments! We look forward to starting a second
course in August and would like to offer this course to not only new
hires but to seasoned ED/ICU employees who wish to gain additional
knowledge in the field of critical care.
We would like to recognize and thank our colleagues who completed
this course for their professionalism and contribution to making the
pilot course a success!
15

► Continued from page 11
Shared Governance Council Updates
Coordinating Council
CC Objectives 2012-2013
Shared Governance Redesign
• Shared Governance Model Update
• New Council: “The role of the Nursing Management Council is to manage resources as defined in the
strategic plan and conceptual framework. The council examines the delivery of patient care as it is
affected by the availability of human, fiscal, material, support, and systems linkage resources. This
council promotes the responsible and creative use of resources so that expenses are controlled while
exceeding the health care expectation of the patients and their significant others.” -Shared Governance
Toolkit. Names for the council being considered include: Nurse-Finance Council and Resource
Management Council
• Communication between UPC and CC
• LPN/CNA Membership: Care and Practice; Quality/Safety; Evidence-Based Practice Councils
• Bylaws development
• Contribution to Plan for Magnet Designation
Coordinating Council is also working with Jordan Colwell and Education to identify content and appropriate
speaker for Nurse’s Day.
16

Emergency Exercises
By David Edwards
The “Emergency Management Coffee Break Training” is a bi-weekly
publication for all employees regardless of skill level, emergency or
disaster response expertise, or position. The objective of each lesson is
to increase employee awareness and
expose employees to Regional West’s
Emergency Management Program.
Why do we conduct emergency
exercises?
We use exercises to test our emergency
plans. We do not want to discover a
flaw in our plans during an actual event.
Contrary to popular view, we do not
conduct exercises because the Joint
Commission says we must. We do it to
prepare our employees and to test our
plans.
Exercises are not just the big full-scale
event you see every year. Exercises also include workshops, seminars,
and tabletop exercise. We do not announce every exercise. We purposely
refrain from announcing some exercises so we can evaluate employee
response.
Not only do the exercises test our plans, they test our employees response,
too. We expect employees to participate fully in exercises as long as we
do not compromise patient care or safety. This means using the radios,
simulating care of simulated patients, and generally responding as you
would if this was a true emergency.
Many times, we hear employees saying, “Well, this is only a
drill, I would do this during a true emergency.” Any employee
who believes this, is fooling himself. We know people perform
as they practice, so practicing exactly what you would do in an
actual event is the right thing to do during exercises.
After we hold an exercise or experience an actual event, we
develop an After Action Report (AAR). The AAR reviews the
exercise or event and discusses major strengths and areas for
improvement.
If we find areas needing improvement, a Corrective Action
Plan (CAP) is developed. The CAP outlines the items needing
improvement and identifies the responsible person. It also lists
an anticipated correction date. When the Joint Commission is
onsite, they will ask about our corrective actions and changes
we made to the EOP in response to the CAP.
As always, if you have any emergency management questions, contact
David Edwards, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator at Ext. 2099 or
edwardd@rwmc.net.
17

Safety and Occupational Health
State Health Department Urges “Get A Flu Shot”
The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services is strongly
recommending that all individuals age six months and older have a flu
immunization as soon as possible if they have not done so already.
Seasonal flu is now widespread and has resulted in many hospitalizations
throughout the state. In Lancaster County, two deaths due to influenza have
been confirmed by the state health department. Both the adult and child
who died were not vaccinated against influenza.
Uninsured children from six months to 19 years of age who qualify for the
Vaccine for Children program are eligible for flu shots at no cost.
“We want to emphasize that young children are at high risk for complications
from the flu. All children age six months and older and all caregivers who
have contact with them should get a flu vaccination,” said Sandy Preston,
RN, Regional West Community Health Nurse and Immunization Coordinator.
This year, the flu vaccine protects against two strains of influenza type A and
one strain of type B.
“Even those who have had the flu should get vaccinated once they are well.
If not, they remain susceptible to getting one of the other strains of flu,” said
Preston.
You can schedule an appointment at Regional West Community Health by
calling 308.630.2700, Option 1. Flu vaccinations are also available from
local health providers and pharmacies.
For more information about the flu or vaccinations, please call Regional
West Community Health at 308.630.1126.
Flu Facts
The flu is NOT a stomach/intestinal illness
The flu is an infection of the nose, throat, and lungs caused by influenza
viruses. It is a highly infectious disease that can cause mild to severe illness
like pneumonia, and can lead to death.
Symptoms
• Fever, cough, sore throat, headache, fatigue, chills, achiness.
• Everyone should consider getting immunized against the flu!
• Those who are higher risk for complications from the flu should receive
the flu vaccination. Those at high risk include:
• Children under age five (especially six months to two years).
• Household contacts of persons at high risk for flu complications,
especially babies six months and younger who are at high risk but
are too young be vaccinated.
• Adults age 65 years and older,
• People who care for those at high risk.
• Pregnant women.
• Health care workers.
• People with asthma, neurological and neuro-developmental
conditions, chronic lung disease, heart disease, blood disorders,
diabetes, kidney disorders, liver disorders, metabolic disorders,
obesity, a weakened immune system, and those under age 19
who receive long-term aspirin therapy.
• People living in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
Reduce your flu risk
• Vaccination is the best prevention. Full protection occurs about two
weeks after vaccination.
• Stay home if you have flu symptoms.
• Avoid people who have symptoms.
• Wash hands thoroughly and frequently.
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• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve when you
cough or sneeze.