Health System Conducts Mass Flu Shot Drill

With thousands of Duke University Health System faculty and staff lining up to receive free flu shots as part a 24-hour mass vaccination drill on Tuesday, Linda Wilkins wanted to ensure she was among them.

Wilkins stopped by the Atrium Cafeteria at Duke University Hospital (North) at about 7:30 a.m., making her among the first health system employees to get a flu shot as part of the vaccination drill.

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"I've been getting a shot every year they've been available at Duke and I think it definitely helps," said Wilkins, a 45 year Duke employee and business manager for the Division of Hematology, "Even though I'm not around patients on a regular basis, there's still a risk with so many people coming in and out of the hospital. It's important to have a healthy workforce."

As part of the drill from Tuesday to early Wednesday, nurses, pharmacists and clinicians provided vaccinations at designated areas like the Atrium Cafeteria and within individual units or departments. The 24-hour timeframe allowed for employees on all shifts to get a flu shot, while following guidelines that would be used during an epidemic, pandemic or emergency event.

Jessica Thompson, director of the Emergency Preparedness and Trauma Program and the Duke Preparedness and Response Center, said the ultimate goal is to vaccinate as many health system employees as possible in order to best support patient safety. 

"This exercise allows us to test and practice our mass vaccination capabilities for a disaster, but it also helps meet an important need to focus on values of safety and protecting ourselves and patients from the flu," Thompson said. "Many of our patients are in a high-risk group, making staff vaccination critical to reducing the risk of an outbreak and serious complications." 

A tally for how many health system employees received a flu vaccination will be finalized later this week. 

Staff members at Durham Regional Hospital hoped to use the flu drill to get a jumpstart on their goal of vaccinating at least 78 percent of the hospital's roughly 1,900 employees this flu season.

"Getting a flu vaccine is all about doing the right thing for our patients, loved ones and each other," said Katie Galbraith , chief hospital operations and business development officer for Durham Regional.  "This kind of drill definitely draws attention to the importance of getting vaccinated."

Alexander Allori  knows all about that. As he waited in line Tuesday morning for his flu shot at Duke University Hospital, he said that because he has daily contact with patients as a plastic surgeon, he wants to make sure it's not just him staying healthy during the winter.

"If I'm not sick, that means I can take care of my patients," Allori said. "If I get a shot, I don't have the risk of transferring any flu to them."