Nursing News
ANA Awarded Funding to Boost Immunization Rates for Nurses and Public
Oct. 5, 2009 – The American Nurses Association (ANA) announced it has been awarded a two-year cooperative agreement with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to encourage nurses to be fully vaccinated and to help educate the public and promote the merits of immunization for the health of the entire nation.
This CDC funding is part of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and will support ANA’s commitment to increasing the knowledge and competency of nurses regarding immunization. Through print and electronic communications, ANA will deliver timely messages on the importance of immunization through its broad network of members, state nursing associations, affiliated specialty nursing organizations and health care partners.
The need for health care workers and the general public to get vaccinated is especially critical this fall because of the potential of a widespread pandemic outbreak of the 2009 novel H1N1 virus. This ANA national initiative will rally registered nurses to become “immunization champions” to improve vaccination rates (routine, seasonal and pandemic) in the general population. Health care workers can spread illness to their patients, especially influenza. They can also acquire illnesses as a consequence of their work in health care settings.
“Registered nurses can be leaders nationwide in setting the example for health care providers to get vaccinated and in alerting their patients and the general public about the importance of protecting themselves and their broader community from vaccine-preventable disease,” said ANA President Rebecca M. Patton, MSN, RN, CNOR. “One of the RNs’ core responsibilities is to educate patients and communities about health risks and benefits,” Patton added. “This CDC cooperative agreement will help us do that.”
Source: ANA
