The Pelican News - June 2017

Page 6 • Pelican News June, July, August 2017
72 Ochsner Nurses and Pharmacists Complete Training as
System Immunization Champions
Andrea Thibodeaux, RN, and Maria Nix, MSN, RN
Ochsner Health System
“For more than 50 years, immunization has saved
more than a billion lives and prevented countless illnesses
and disabilities in the United States. Vaccine-preventable
diseases, such as measles, mumps, and whooping cough,
are still a threat. They continue to infect U.S. children,
resulting in hospitalizations and deaths every year.”
– The Immunization Action Coalition.
On August 31, 2016, 72 Ochsner ambulatory nurses
and pharmacists attended the Immunization Champions,
Advocates and Mentors Program (ICAMP) at Ochsner
Medical Center-Jefferson Highway. The ICAMP program
is offered by the Gerontological Society of America
(GSA) to empower providers to improve vaccine rates and
to become champions for adult vaccination. Ochsner’s
Vaccine Sub-Committee coordinated the program to
train ambulatory clinic nurses and pharmacist to serve
as Ochsner Health System’s Immunization Champions.
ICAMP helps healthcare providers become change agents,
mentors and trainers to support vaccination, and the
training covered topics like change management, goal
setting, and managing resistance to change.
Janie Gilberti, Ochsner’s Vice President of Primary
Care Service Line and Deborah Simonson, Ochsner’s
Promise Healthcare, Inc. is one of the largest long-term
acute care (LTAC) hospital organizations in the country.
We want “YOU” to be a part of our family and currently
have a full-time Clinical Educator opening.
Will have strong leadership and education experience in order to assess,
design, present and coordinate hospital-wide educational programs, inservice,
and orientation for designated nursing and non-nursing personnel.
1. Must be a graduate of an accredited school of nursing;
2. Must hold a current state license and must maintain license renewal in accordance
with the standards of the State Board of Nursing; Three to five years of progressively
responsible nursing experience relative to the designated clinical services preferred.
3. Demonstrated leadership skills and a commitment to education as a methodology for
promoting continuous quality improvement in the delivery of patient care and services.
Additional positions open for:
Registered Nurse – $2,500 Sign-on Bonus!
Respiratory Therapist – $2,500 Sign-on Bonus!
Certified Nursing Assistants
Excellent benefits, 401K, and much MORE!!!
Apply through our website:
www.promisehealthcare.com
Vice President of Pharmacy Services welcomed
attendees. Karen Tracy, GSA Senior Director of
Strategic Alliances and Communications began the
training with an overview of the day and shared,
“Immunizations can help us to age well and the
Gerontological Society of America is the best kept
secret in Washington, DC.”
Background of ICAMP
The ICAMP program is a multidisciplinary program
designed to empower healthcare providers to recognize
the importance of vaccinating adult patients to prevent
diseases, assist in meeting the Healthy People 2020
immunization goals, and strengthen adult immunization
and knowledge of standards. The ICAMP model has
three phases: pre-academy webinar, in-person academy
event and post-academy webinar meetings. Using lecture,
interactive group discussions, and reflective activities,
participants learned from the ICAMP Toolkit which
outlines the National Vaccine Advisory Committee’s
most current standards for adult immunization practice
and is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC.)
Here’s what the participants learned:
• Champions Assess a patient’s vaccine status at every
patient encounter using the HALO checklist (Health,
Age, Lifestyle and Occupational factors.)
Immediate openings!
Registered Nurses (RN’s) for both
Outpatient Dialysis and Hospital Services.
Benefits include a very competitive salary,
medical and dental insurance, vision care, life
insurance, long-term disability, educational
assistance and retirement plan.
Contact Kim LeBlanc at (903) 456-6414 or
Kim.LeBlanc@dciinc.org
• Immunization Champions can use the SHARE
technique to provide strong recommendations for
vaccinations
• S – Share the reason why the vaccine is
important
• H – Highlight your own experiences to show
benefits of vaccine
• A – Address patients questions and/or concerns
• R – Remind patients of preventable diseases
• E – Explain the cost and impact of getting sick
• Administer vaccine or Refer the patient by training
staff on proper vaccine administration, use of
written order guidelines/standing orders, proper
storage of vaccines, handout Vaccine Information
Statements (VIS) and have a standard workflow for
referring a patient when you do not administer a
certain vaccine
• Document and Report the vaccination
Ochsner Health System prioritizes disease prevention
for patients and their families and was recently
awarded an Honorable Mention for Adult Immunization
Champion for the 2017 National Adult and Influenza
Immunization Summit. The summit is hosted by the
CDC and is held in Atlanta, GA. “Through ICAMP,
our nurses have taken an active role in initiating
immunizations in our patients. These immunizations
are critical to protecting both our patients and our
workforce from preventable diseases and illnesses. It
makes a huge impact” Dr. Katherine Baumgarten, M. D.
Senior Physician-Medical Director, Ochsner Infectious
Disease.
To learn more about how to improve immunization
practices, here are resources: Gerontological Society
of America https://www.geron.org/, Center for Disease
Control and Prevention http://www.cdc.gov/, National
Vaccine Advisory Committee http://www.hhs.gov/nvpo/
nvac/index.html , Immunization Action Coalition http://
www.immunize.org/importance-of-vaccines/ and Healthy
People 2020 https://www.healthypeople.gov/
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Achievements in public health, 1900–1999: Control of
infectious diseases. MMWR. 1999 Jul 30; 48(29):621-9.
Gerontological Society of America. (2016). Retrieved from
https://www.geron.org/
Healthy People 2020. (2016) Retrieved from https://www.
healthypeople.gov/
National Vaccine Advisory Committee. (2016). Retrieved from
http://www.hhs.gov/nvpo/nvac/index.html
Whether caring for patients in one of our
hospitals or out in the community, we’ve
created environments that allow our nurses to
live, grow and thrive! Forrest Health offers one
of the most competitive benefits packages in
Mississippi and provides opportunities for career
development and growth. Learn more about
our award-winning services and programs at
joinforresthealth.org.
NURSING OPPORTUNITIES
RN
Behavioral Health • ER • Home Health
ICU • Intermediate Care • Rehab
Med-Surg • OR • Telemetry
LPN
Urgent Care Clinic • Home Health
Nursing Home • Rehab
Nurse Assistant
Telemetry • Nursing Home
Rehab • Med-Surg
Please contact: Lane Regional Medical Center
6300 Main Street
Zachary, Louisiana 70791
Phone (225) 658-4591 or Fax (225) 658-4194
JOB LINE (225) 658-4158
Equal Opportunity Employer
VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT www.LaneRMC.org