Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.
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F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 1 • O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y . N E T • 2 1 over 65 years old and had connections, but we could not — and most of our staff of 250 is face to face with 1,500 patients a week." Staff infections are a weekly occurrence at his center, as are phone calls from patients who got positive test results days after their eye proce- dures. Fortunately, Dr. Newsom thinks outpa- tient employees are finally getting access to the vaccines. One of his staff members, who is 80 years old and has pulmonary fibrosis, is one of four employees who are on a list to be immu- nized. "Four out of 250 isn't great, but we were at zero for quite some time, so it's better than noth- ing," says Dr. Newsom. "But what about the majority of my staff who wants to get vaccinated because they provide direct patient care, but can't get an appointment?" Vaccination is a personal choice, although there are layers to an individual's legal rights in healthcare settings (see "How to Handle COVID- 19 Vaccinations" on page 14). Some healthcare providers are choosing to forgo vaccination over legitimate concerns about side effects and a lack of long-term safety data. Some are refusing the vaccine because they've had COVID-19 or are unconcerned about contracting the virus. "I'd never dismiss anyone's fears, but I would encourage them to educate themselves about the vaccines, read the research and consider the mil- lions of healthcare workers around the world who have had positive vaccination experiences," says Ms. Lindsay. "I'd ask them to reconsider their position based on getting informed, but also because we're in the midst of a global crisis. We need a solution that's more powerful than hand hygiene and social distancing to put an end to this dreadful pandemic." Nicolette Williams, RN, CNOR, executive direc- tor of the Lakeland (Fla.) Surgical and Diagnostic Center, says her staff is currently not required to get vaccinated, but she would like at least half of them to receive the vaccine. "Our goal is to have all of our staff members vaccinated by 2022, and we will continue to communicate with individual employees to discuss their thoughts and concerns about vaccination." In the meantime, the facility is still conducting daily monitoring of temperatures, and requiring staff to wear N95s and practice social distancing. Stephanie Vasquez, RN, a nurse at University of Texas Health Austin Ambulatory Surgery Center, was fully vaccinated on January 4. Ms. Vasquez received the shots out of a sense of responsibility she felt as a healthcare provider. "I believe it's my moral and ethical obligation to protect my commu- nity and to protect my patients," she says. "In order to do that, I had to protect myself." Ms. Vasquez, who received the Pfizer vaccine, felt no ill effects after the first dose. She did develop flu-like symptoms the evening after receiving the second dose, but felt much better LAUGHS LOST Janine Jones, RN, a beloved staff member at AUA Surgical Center, died in December from COVID-19. AUA Surgical Center