Beginning Tuesday, Oct. 20, the York Street and Saint Raphael campuses will begin to arm employees to fight off the flu by offering free vaccinations. York Street Campus flu clinics will be offered in the East Pavilion Cafeteria special events area:

• Oct. 20: 7:30 am - 6 pm
• Oct. 21: 7:30 am - 5 pm
• Oct. 22: 7:30 am - 5 pm
• Oct. 23: 7:30 am - 4 pm

Roving vaccinations in patient care units and clinics will begin on or about Oct. 26. Managers will receive details via email. The Saint Raphael Campus will hold clinics for employees in the cafeteria conference room:

• Oct. 24: 8 - 11 am
• Oct. 26: 6 - 11 am
• Oct. 27: 6 - 11:30 am
• Oct. 30: noon - 4 pm
• Nov. 7: 8 - 11 am
• Nov. 9: 2 - 6 pm
• Nov. 10: 2 - 6 pm

Roving vaccinations will be held in SRC departments:

• Oct. 21, 7 am - 4 pm
• Oct. 22, 7 am - 3:30 pm
• Oct. 23, 7:30 am - 4 pm

Off-site and off-shift employee vaccination clinics may be held as early as the week of Oct. 12 (provided enough vaccination has arrived). Please check with your manager and look for posted signs in your work areas.

Starting Nov. 2, Occupational Health departments on both campuses will begin vaccinating. Please note that dates/times/locations may change without notice. Beginning this flu season, all employees in these YNHH departments are required to get vaccinated against influenza as a condition of employment:

• Pediatrics (including YNHCH, YNHH Pediatrics at the Bridgeport Hospital Campus and all ambulatory locations)
• Respiratory Care
• Women's Services

Declinations will not be accepted for these employees unless they meet approved exemption criteria.

All other YNHH employees must participate in the mandatory influenza vaccination program by receiving the vaccine or signing a declination. The deadline for compliance is Dec. 1.

Employees who get vaccinated outside of YNHH at their physician's office or elsewhere must attest to being vaccinated in Employee Self Service by providing the vaccination location and date. YNHCH, Women's Services and Respiratory Care employees must provide written documentation of vaccination to their managers if they are vaccinated outside of YNHH.

The hospital will track compliance to the mandatory vaccination program. Managers will receive weekly reports with the percentages of their employees who have received the flu vaccine, those who have declined and those who have not responded at all. In response to Joint Commission standards, the hospital requires all employees to complete influenza prevention training in HealthStream.

Next year, for the 2016-17 flu season, all employees will be required to receive the influenza vaccination as a condition of employment unless an approved exemption exists.

For more information, contact: YSC - Cheryl Hyder, RN, Occupational Health, 203-688-1126, [email protected]; SRC - Andrea Santerre, RN, Occupational Health Plus, 203-789-6216, [email protected].