COVID-19 Staff Vaccination Ambassadors

We provided education on an ongoing basis through a variety of avenues i.e. 1:1 discussion, paper handouts, video’s, etc. A $100.00 bonus was provided to fully vaccinated staff as a “thank you for giving the gift of protection to our residents and your co-workers.”

Being available to assist staff in registering for the vaccine and sending reminders. Have positive cases again this fall, texts and emails stating the availability of vaccine and strong encouragement from SMPHS lead staff.

We offered ongoing education at monthly staff meeting and utilized Dr. Paul Carson’s videos.

We provide education on an ongoing basis through a variety of avenues i.e. 1:1 visits, paper handouts, video’s, etc. A $100.00 bonus was also provided as a “thank you for the gift of protection to our residents and you co-worker.”

It is a longstanding tradition at Bismarck Burleigh Public Health to promote vaccinations and Covid-19 has been no different. It is the mind set of our staff to never miss an opportunity to educate and administer a vaccine. It is our belief that we can’t promote an attitude of vaccine importance if we aren’t willing to be vaccinated ourselves.

We were fortunate that the majority of our staff was willing to get vaccinated, especially since so many staff and residents had covid in the past year. We did have a few that got vaccinated after the mandate initially came out as they did not want to lose their jobs. It is so comforting to know that we have such dedicated staff that want to work with our residents. 

We worked with Cavalier County Public Health to provide and schedule vaccination dates starting in December. Staff were able to leave work briefly to get the vaccination. Nursing leaders and other leadership staff also got the vaccination. We rolled it out based on the Tier system from the state. Most were quite willing to get the vaccine. We had one staff member who had been quite ill with COVID, which may have also encouraged staff to get vaccinated. People need to decide on their own. They do not like to be pushed and that will actually drive certain groups away.

Allowing staff to schedule vaccine time during working hours has assisted our agency in increasing our rate.

Educating staff on vaccination efficacy and making sure they have all the data and can make an informed decision as well as posting of weekly numbers in the state has worked for our staff to get vaccinated.

We are a public health unit that has been involved in the front line work during this pandemic. We were delighted that we have a 100% immunization rate.

Dunseith Community Nursing Home offered a bonus as an incentive and educated staff on the importance of the vaccination and how it will benefit both staff, and most importantly, the residents.

Persistence and education are key. We also had a mandatory PowerPoint presentation and education meeting discussing the science and facts on the vaccines. We included testimonials from staff who are suffering from long hauler COVID symptoms, as well as those who had family members were with severe COVID. We also used resident testimonials on reasons why they hope staff will get vaccinated and what they are looking forward to post vaccine. We have actively worked with local pharmacies and the county to get people vaccinated when we don’t have doses on hand. If someone wants a vaccine I will find them one.

We did a lot of education leading up to our initial vaccine clinics. We did hang up signs in the building talking about common myths of the vaccines and discussing reasons why staff should get the vaccine, but I truly believe it comes down to talking with your staff 1:1. I had many meetings with staff and discussed their personal concerns, thoughts and feelings about the vaccine and provided them with education and resources for them to do additional reading tailored to their specific concerns. We attended numerous shift reports and department meetings and really just talked about how important the vaccine is to the health and safety of the residents and our employees. Once we started getting employees to agree to get the vaccine, others who were hesitant started encouraging their co-workers and it really was a domino effect. I continue to talk with people who have not yet chosen to get the vaccine and talk about what fears they still have. We have continued to get more staff to take the vaccine every week and just keep encouraging and educating. We are currently at 90% of our staff vaccinated with more staff planning to get the vaccine next week. I think the difference for us was addressing vaccine concerns on a personal level. We addressed their fears and tailored responses and education to what each individual was worried about and what each individual had to gain from getting the vaccine. We were very persistent in our education and didn’t let an initial no stop us from continuing to approach employees and encourage them to rethink their position.

We offered education and a staff bonus of $100 for those who received their vaccination.

We listened to the concerns of our staff as the vaccine was getting ready to roll out and we knew there was some hesitation out there about the vaccines and their safety and efficacy. Our Incident Command Team spoke with one of our physicians who agreed to give presentations for our staff regarding the vaccine. We had our staff sign up for one of several sessions offered and allowed time for Q&A at the end. These informative sessions were very well attended and well received. We are confident they helped change the mind of some of our staff. We sent an anonymous survey to find out how many of our staff were planning to get vaccinated. We were able to use this to gage if we needed to do more staff education. We made our vaccination days a fun event. We had photo ops, snacks, and music. There was a lot of excitement around there the first couple of days! All three of our providers were willing to get our first vaccines in front of the group and this was covered by the local newspapers. As of today we have 92.3% of our staff vaccinated against COVID-19!

Education!

We have worked with multiple disciplines in our area including Dickey County Health Department and out local pharmacy Tara’s Thrifty White in order to ensure that vaccine is available. Working with both entities has allowed us to offer the needed guidance to get the correct information on vaccinations out to our staff. Together we have achieved our goal; one that would not have been met without all of the local support.

We provided on-site vaccinations and multiple convenient opportunities for personnel to be vaccinated. Administrative leave was available for anyone who experienced side effects preventing them from their assigned work after vaccination. Information about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine was provided frequently to staff in many venues such as print, research information, webinars and opportunities to visit with vaccine experts if they had questions.  

Education. We benefit due to being a small family-orientated facility; we want to protect all whom we care for and wanted residents to be able to have visitors. 

We continue to offer education on the benefits of the vaccine through meetings, one-on-one conversations and videos. Having 100% of the residents vaccinated without side effects has helped. Staff members witnessing for themselves the mild side effects, if any, coworkers had with the vaccine. Cutting down on mandatory testing for vaccinated employees (still meeting the CMS criteria), but continuing with enhanced testing for unvaccinated employees. 

With being in healthcare, most of our staff have not questioned why to get the vaccine. We do mandate goggles/face shields/testing for all unvaccinated staff and there are a few not willing to go that extra step.

All staff believe in vaccination. Only one staff member has opted out due to multiple allergies to medications and foods.

Our organization is participating in the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine trial. As a result, our staff believes in science behind the vaccine and we have a 96% vaccination rate.

Our initial staff vaccination percentage was 65 percent in January and February; when we were first able to start receiving vaccines. Since then, we have shared many articles, videos and other educational resources about the vaccines and have continually encouraged our staff to educate themselves further on COVID-19 vaccines. Slowly but surely, more and more staff began getting their vaccines; as of early August, we passed 80% vaccinated. We will continue to educate and share any knowledge we can until all of our staff feel confident enough to get the vaccine.

Education has been so very important. We had the North Dakota State University (NDSU) immunization education team do some education during one of our regular all staff meetings. It was helpful and debunked many common myths about the COVID vaccine. Supervisors did one-on-one visits with hesitant staff and found this to also be helpful. We openly communicated with staff and listened to their concerns. The CMS vaccine mandate also has brought forth a few of our vaccine hesitant staff to take the vaccination. We gave PTO days, during a set time frame, as an incentive to those that took the COVID vaccine.Our facility’s overall goal is to keep our residents safe and vaccination is such a key preventative measure.

Education. Education. Education. Sitting down with staff that were hesitant and walking them through their concerns. Access: making it easy for staff to get vaccinated by having the clinic on-site.

Our staff voluntarily received vaccinations and completed their doses in February 2021. All but two (one being a new hire) received both doses of Moderna.

It is very important to know that the staff are scared and they have every right to be scared of the unknown. Hearing them out and providing education is what some need.

Nelson-Griggs District Health Unit employs a total of 3 staff – 2 RNs and 1 Administrative Assistant. With such a small staff, 3 other RNs have provided limited nursing services as needed for COVID-19 clinics and other public health services. All 6 are vaccinated, making our staff 100% vaccinated.

We communicated with staff with education and having open conversations regarding the vaccination and any hesitancy they may have. Inaccurate data has been a barrier for some staff. Many are not sure who to trust. Some individuals made the decision to receive the vaccine after having to be out once – or after multiple times – for being a close contact.

It’s really helped that our clinic is an authorized vaccination clinic. They run vaccine clinics every Thursday. Majority of our staff vaccinated initially then we picked away at the rest of the staff over time. I know some changed their mind as they were more comfortable. We made a change allowing vaccinated staff to no longer wear eye protection and that made a few change their minds. We’ve included education in newsletters, daily briefs, meetings, direct conversations etc. I’ve met with many of our staff on a one on one for those that wanted more information, some decided to take it others have continued to refuse. Under 18 population, pregnant, breast feeding, potential child bearing age seem to be the largest portion of our unvaccinated. I’ve had other say they’ll get vaccinated if it leads to taking the mask off, which right now is not the case for the vaccinated and they’re seeing that.

Continued COVID-19 vaccine education and providing staff opportunities to participate in vaccination clinics in-house has greatly contributed to our success rate with vaccinating our staff. Providing educational materials on vaccination, giving reminders on vaccine efficacy, safety and speaking with staff personally has helped our vaccination program immensely. Supporting our staff through the pandemic by answering questions and listening to their health concerns regarding COVID-19 has helped to establish trust in our Infection Prevention Program as well. Our staff has been dedicated to our community of residents since the onset of the pandemic, and it shows through their continued dedication and participation in our COVID-19 Vaccination program.

100% of the Pembina County Public Health staff are vaccinated.

Misconceptions were the biggest impediment to vaccination. We were able to achieve a 100% vaccination rate though patience and education of our excellent staff. Our physician staff provided materials and staff education with verified source information from the State of North Dakota Department of Health, the CDC and the American Academy of Obstetrics and Gynecology. We regularly entertained all questions and concerns with openness.

All of our staff understands the importance of vaccination and there really were no barriers. Everyone was very excited to receive their vaccine!

We had low numbers with the first round, but as they saw no major side effects and with word of mouth and discussions, the numbers have risen.

It is very hard to be giving the vaccine and encouraging others to get the vaccine if you haven’t gotten it yourself. After the hours worked and frustration for the last year, it was a very easy decision as we knew it was the first step at ending the pandemic

We initially provided education of the benefits of getting vaccinated to all staff and residents. We did a survey of staff to find out what questions they had about the vaccine and provided education based on those questions. Once we got the initial list of staff, we went back to those that had not consented and asked if they had any further questions. We sent out Dr. Paul Carson’s video on vaccination to all staff and families of the residents to help answer their questions on the benefits of vaccination. Prior to our first vaccination date, a few key staff sent out emails to all staff saying why they were personally choosing to receive the vaccination. That encouraged staff to talk to those people with their questions. In January, we had 3 scheduled dates for staff to receive their vaccinations at the facility. Some of the staff that were holding out on getting the vaccine were able to see that their co-workers did not experience side effects and did very well after getting their 1st and 2nd doses. They were also able to see many of their co-workers wearing buttons that the facility gave them that said “I got my COVID-19 vaccination”. We continue to talk to new staff and send out reminders to staff when we are giving vaccinations so they know that it is available to them. All of these things together have been successful in encouraging staff to get the vaccine.

Marketing campaigns, mass communications to dispel myths, leadership rounding within departments and hosted frequent and convenient vaccination clinics.

Marketing campaigns, mass communications to dispel myths, leadership rounding within departments and hosted frequent and convenient vaccination clinics.

There was very little hesitancy among our small staff.

Many staff have seen the vaccine being given to other staff and no adverse side effects given.

Our pharmacy has been on the front lines of the vaccination effort. Staff were motivated to lead by example in becoming vaccinated to protect themselves, their families, and the patients we serve.

COVID vaccine available on-site during work hours helped to reduce barriers and made it convenient for employees to get vaccinated. Given that we work in healthcare, many employees were motivated and excited to be given the opportunity to get vaccinated for their health and safety as well as the health and safety of their family, friends and our community.

Education using reputable sources from North Dakota Department of Health and CDC Vaccine acceptance over time. Also, providing multiple opportunities for vaccination.

Actually didn’t take much convincing! Our staff were pretty excited to get vaccinated. A vaccine clinics all shifts care package was given with each vaccine (tylenol, powerade, chicken soup). Prior to vaccine rollout, all employees were required to watch Paul Carson video re: vaccine safety and efficacy. In addition, posters, pamphlets, etc. were distributed and an in-house video scrolling message board with pro vaccine education was displayed.

Staff education and requiring education prior to signing a declination sheet. For those not immunized, we require continued use of higher level of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) compared to those who took vaccine, etc.

We continue to talk and listen to those individuals who are unvaccinated one-on-one. We work to validate their fears, but show them evidence to help ease their minds about getting vaccinated. Also, showing them statistical evidence that supports vaccines has helped persuade some.

As a Sanford/GSS facility, we have implemented a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination, similar to our annual influenza vaccination requirement. In addition to this, we have done a lot of one-on-one education with our staff members to discuss the COVID-19 vaccines and answer questions and provide facts for the concerns staff have. There is a lot of transparency with the information shared regarding vaccinations, benefits, risks, and current statistics. We are very proud to have reached this milestone!

No barriers; our employees welcomed the vaccine

94% of our staff have been vaccinated as of yesterday at 5:00 pm, and everyone did this on their own. We had some informal inter-departmental conversations when the vaccine was available, but we never formally recommended it to our staff. We are so proud of our staff for looking out for their health and the health of the community.

We have not seen barriers preventing our staff from getting vaccinated. We all wanted to be vaccinated as soon as we were able, to get life back to normal.

Our public health office works continuously to get others vaccinated and to achieve a higher vaccination rate. It required no effort at all to get our staff vaccinated at the first opportunity presented.

We offered vaccinations early and made them easily available.

1 on 1 conversations for those hesitant. We would like to see ourselves above 90%. We have a young female workforce that are hesitant due to concerns of either being presently pregnant or concerned about future pregnancy complications. We are planning an anonymous survey to assess  concerns and help provide information and 1 on 1 conversations to help increase our percentage.

Education from trusted sources and leadership encouragement.

Education, education and education. Revisiting with those who declined initially.

Education, education and education. Revisiting with those who declined initially.

Villa Maria initially provided education of the benefits of getting vaccinated to all staff and residents. We did a survey of staff to find out what questions they had about the vaccine and provided education based on those questions. Once we got the initial list of staff we went back to those that had not consented and asked if they had any further questions. We sent out Dr. Paul Carson’s video on vaccination to all staff and families of the residents to help answer their questions on the benefits of vaccination. In January and February, we had 3 scheduled dates for staff to receive their vaccinations at the facility. Some of the staff that were holding out on getting the vaccine were able to see that their co-workers did not experience side effects and did very well after getting their 1st and 2nd doses. They were also able to see many of their co-workers wearing buttons that the facility gave them that said “I got my COVID-19 vaccination”. We continue to talk to new staff and those that have not received the vaccine. All of these things together have been successful in encouraging staff to get the vaccine.

All staff have recognized the importance of vaccination and readily adopted getting the vaccine.

One of the biggest game changers was having a staff member discuss their personal experience and long-term effects related to COVID-19.