A memo has been sent out to our staff to screen all visitors for immunizations, sickness, etc.

While it sounds like a good idea to protect our patients, it just is not possible!

Well the only way that comes to mind, is to ask if they have been around those who appear to have flu and are they caught up on immunizations. Seems to me quite a mountainous task for nurses, however. But that is the only way I can see it being done.

Offer to take the role of screening nurse at hours that suit you!

Does this mean that sick or recently-immunised nurses can stay home? At full pay, perhaps!

That's what i was going to say, i mean, who exactly has the time to screen VISITORS for their immunizations??

Well gee whiz isn't this a violation of HIPAA? Do we have a pressing need to know this health information? These people are not our patients Lordy who has time to do this, then answer the endless questions that inevitably come up, these visitors always want to talk endlessly about their health problems, get free advice, get their BP taken (it amazes me when they think its my job to do this) My critical patients can wait because VISITORS are my priority they are customers too, right...

Very true mattsmom, but on the other hand - there is nothing like a "well meaning" visitor coughing and hacking and dragging infections in to our patients (and US!!) to extend a hospital stay. Of course nurses not washing their hands will get blamed for any infection the patient gets from a visitor. Of course insurance will not pay for the extra days if patient gets an infection. Of course you cannot get ANYONE, it seems, to understand that it is beyond stupid to go wandering around all over town when you have an active infection (especially in a hospital where patients' immunity is already compromised!). It makes you a public health risk, not to mention that your body does not get the REST it needs to fight the infection. Of course with visitors streaming in and out, the patients do not get the rest they need either. But in today's healthcare system, we are not there for the patients, we are there for the CUSTOMERS. BLEECH!

If I see someone coughing or sneezing I will ask.them if they are ill etc... Otherwise, I don't see how we are to be responsible for monitoring the visitors health status. Now if we were staffed appropriately we could perhaps be more thorogh in interviewing, but otherwise no.It is our job to protect the patient yes, but we have our priorities and visitors are lower on the totem pole than meds and treatments.

We do it at my job. The immunizations are checked for siblings of babies in our unit and documented in the chart. They are not permitted to visit without proof of current immunization status.

SSHHHHHH!! Don't let the management at my hospital even HEAR of such a thing.......they'll make US do it. We've just been introduced to yet another piece of admission legwork: We have to ask patients if they've gotten their pneumonia and flu vaccines (fun to do if they're demented), then call their doctor and get an order to give it to them if they haven't, THEN fill out the paperwork, give them the required information about the shots, send the order to pharmacy, and administer the vaccine. :angryfire Like we don't have enough to do when we get an admission.......now we have to serve as public-health nurses too??!! It's bad enough that we get dinged if pharmacy actually has to call up to the floor to get height, weight and allergies on a new admit rather than wait till the unit secretary sends down this information via computer.......might as well do THAT ourselves too.

Sorry if I sound a bit crabby......it's just that I'm the admissions nurse from 11-3, and I really hate it when the desk jockeys in administration, who haven't run the floors in years, add more and more to the floor nurses' workload. Why? Do they honestly believe our eight-page admissions paperwork doesn't provide enough information? What's next, asking the patient their dress or pants size and age at First Communion?? Gimme a break already......

You have a unit secretary?

We have 19 beds and are staffed 2-3 nurses only each shift. Sometimes we have a CNA 11a-11p, but only 2 days a week!

Visitors are not required to stop at the nurses station before seeing patients. They stream in all day long. It's enough to keep track of our patients...some leave to go outside to smoke. We are told to look the other way!!!!!!

I have been so busy sometimes, that sometimes I don't even know that the father has snuck in to sleep with his wife in a semi-private room.

When I do my postpartum teaching, I always tell the parents that someone who is sick should not be visiting. Where it goes from there, I don't know.

I thought that with HIPPA, things would be a little more in control, but we still answer phones and direct people to the patient's rooms. Used to be when I had my kids, visitors had to wash their hands and put on a gown before holding the baby. I don't see that any more!

It looks good on paper to administration, but let's get real! We don't have time to police all visitors the way the system currently is.

We screen sibs for immunizations, etc. Any immunizations within 30 days aren't allowed in the unit, esp with chickenpox vaccines! We also ask people that are sniffling to put on masks. During flu/RSV season we limit sibs and other visitors.

Our admission form is on the computer and asks about flu and pneumonia vaccines. You must answer yes or no if they have had it. If you say no it continues on to ask do they want to be vaccinated..If you put yes they want a date it was given. Working in Icu or and floor for that manner most of the time this information is just unknown or unobtainable on admission. It is so annoying ~I read this wrong screen visitors WOW ~ That does seem very odd~