Protect Your Facility from the Flu

The flu season, which typically peaks in January or February, is off to an early, vicious start. The CDC is reporting that flu activity is continuing to increase across the U.S. and that most of the country is now experiencing high levels of influenza-like illness.¹ The situation has gotten so severe in some areas that hospitals have been forced to go on bypass status, rerouting non-critical patients to other hospitals because their emergency rooms are at capacity with patients complaining of flu-like symptoms.

Seniors are more susceptible to flu due to their weakened immune systems. Ninety percent of flu-related deaths and more than half of flu-related hospitalizations are in people age 65 years and older.²

The CDC recommends taking the following steps to help prevent flu and other respiratory infections from spreading throughout your facility³:

1. Post signs around the facility that instruct residents and visitors to alert staff members if they have any symptoms of a respiratory infection.
2. Ensure that hand hygiene and other necessary items are within easy reach.
• Place alcohol-based hand-rub dispensers in convenient locations throughout your building.
• Provide tissues and no-touch receptacles for disposing of used tissues.
• Make sure that supplies for handwashing (i.e., soap and disposable towels) are readily available at all sinks.
3. Encourage residents, staff and visitors to perform proper respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette, including:
• Covering the mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing (to download a handy "Cover Your Cough" poster from the CDC, click here).
• Placing used tissues in the closest waste receptacle after use.
• Performing hand hygiene (with alcohol-based hand rub, antiseptic handwash or non-antimicrobial soap and water) after having contact with respiratory secretions or contaminated objects or surfaces.
4. Offer masks to residents who are coughing to contain respiratory secretions. 
5. Advise your staff to observe Droplet Precautions (i.e., wearing a mask during close contact) in addition to Standard Precautions when they are with residents who have symptoms of a respiratory infection, particularly if a fever is present.

The CDC also recommends the flu vaccine as the best defense against the seasonal flu. The vaccine is approved for everyone six months of age and older. 

References

1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Situation Update: Summary of Weekly FluView. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/summary.htm. Accessed January 9, 2013.

2 Flu.gov. Seniors. Available at: http://www.flu.gov/at-risk/seniors/index.html. Accessed January 9, 2013.


3 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Respiratory Hygiene/Cough Etiquette in Healthcare Settings. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/infectioncontrol/resphygiene.htm. Accessed January 9, 2013.