Quality Quest for Health of Illinois

Quest Projects : Flu Shot Percentages

Keeping Patients Safe

Percentage of Hospital Employees Vaccinated for the Seasonal Flu

Reporting Period October 2011 - February 2012

Approximately 36,000 deaths in the U.S. each year are caused by the seasonal flu, according to CDC reports. Achieving near 100 percent vaccination rates among healthcare workers can cut patient deaths from flu by 40 percent. The CDC strongly recommends that all healthcare workers receive a flu vaccination.

Quality Quest has tracked the percentage of hospital employees immunized for the seasonal flu on our website since 2009. (See the 2009 and 2010 numbers by clicking on the left sidebar.) As a result, our participating hospitals raised immunization rates to 76 percent during the 2009/2010 season compared to national rates of 44 percent. The percentage jumped to 81 percent for the 2010/2011 flu season. Proctor Hospital, all OSF Healthcare System hospitals, HSHS St. Mary's Hospital, Decatur and Decatur Memorial Hospital have implemented a policy requiring employee vaccination this year. We applaud all of these hospitals and thank our participating hospitals for being part of the Quest flu reporting program.

Our participating hospitals to date include:

Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana

Decatur Memorial Hospital

Genesis Medical Center, Silvis

Hoopeston Regional Health Center

Illini Community Hospital (Blessing Health System), Pittsfield

Massac Memorial Hospital, Metropolis

Methodist Medical Center, Peoria

OSF Holy Family Medical Center, Monmouth

OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center, Rockford

OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, Peoria

OSF Saint James - John W. Albrecht Medical Center, Pontiac