HEADLINE: Nurses' Survey of Hospitals Shows Critical Gaps in Swine Flu Preparedness

SUMMARY: Although the CDC recommends healthcare workers be among the first to be vaccinated for swine flu, a recent survey found weaknesses in preparation, and nurses at the University of California at San Francisco Medical Center rallied for better precautions following the death of a colleague. Survey findings include that more than one-third of hospitals had failed to properly explain swine flu policies and nurses in more than 10 percent of hospitals did not have access to the recommended N95 masks.

STORY LINK: http://www.calnurses.org/media-center/press-releases/2009/august/nurses-survey-of-hospitals-shows-critical-gaps-in-swine-flu-preparedness-and-growing-rn-infections.html

ANALYSIS: Reaching an adequate and appropriate level of preparedness for novel influenza A/H1N1 continues to be a challenge for healthcare facilities and businesses in general.  Many factors complicate this issue, including the still-developing understanding of this particular virus, a lack of comprehensive research on prevention measures, the highly communicable nature of influenza, and the fact that flu is not only found in hospitals but within the greater community.

These uncertainties are exacerbated by conflicting guidance from differing sources such as WHO, CDC and local health authorities.  Just this week, an expert panel was convened by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) on behalf of CDC and OSHA to consider recommendations on personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers.  The panel considered a wide range of inputs and studies ranging from the effectiveness of various types of masks, to early identification of potentially infected individuals, to the operational and individual impacts of mask-wearing policies. The IOM recommendations are forthcoming. 

Critical aspects of preparedness continue to be development of an actionable plan, training and exercise of that plan, and effective communication.  These steps should be built upon best practices and effective coordination with a broad range of subject-matter experts in pandemic preparedness.