Ministry Health Care and Affinity Health System ask the public to help fight the flu by receiving the annual influenza vaccine
National Influenza Vaccination Week marks the beginning of the flu season
12 / 06 / 2012
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Maria Nelson, Media Relations
Affinity Health System
(920) 720-1752
(920) 554-0686 (pager)
MENASHA, Wis. - To mark National Influenza Vaccination Week, Ministry Health Care is reminding the public about the importance of receiving the influenza vaccination. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone over the age of six months receives the vaccination each year.
“The best way to prevent the spread of influenza is by vaccinating as many people as possible,” said Dr. Mark Kehrberg, chief medical officer of Affinity Health System.
Affinity Health System patients can receive their flu vaccine at a regularly scheduled appointment or they can schedule an appointment just to receive the vaccine.
Affinity Health System puts such a high importance on vaccinations that physicians, employees and volunteers working at an Affinity facility are required to receive the influenza vaccine. Since the beginning of December, those who could not or chose not to receive the vaccine are asked to wear a mask when in contact with patients, visitors and co-workers. All employees with flu symptoms are asked to stay home while symptoms persist.
According to the CDC, symptoms of the flu include:
- Fever* or feeling feverish/chills
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Runny or stuffy nose
- Muscle or body aches
- Headaches
- Fatigue (tiredness)
- Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults.
* It's important to note that not the everyone with flu will have a fever.
Complications of the flu include bacterial pneumonia, ear infections, sinus infections, dehydration, and can cause chronic medical conditions, such as congestive heart failure, asthma or diabetes to get worse.
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For the Editor:
Affinity Health System, a faith-based regional health care network, is the Fox Valley’s second-largest employer, according to the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce & Industry. For the fourth consecutive year, Affinity has been named one of the nation’s top 64 health systems based on clinical performance according to Thomson Reuters, a leading provider of information and solutions to improve the cost and quality of health care. For ten consecutive years, Affinity Health System has been named to the SDI (formerly Verispan) Integrated Health Network Top 100, an annual assessment of the 100 most highly integrated health care networks in the nation. Both St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton and Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh rank among the top 1 percent of hospitals nationwide in terms of quality and efficiency, as determined by the 2007 Premier | CareScience Select practice National Quality Award. Members of Affinity include Mercy Medical Center and Mercy Health Foundation, Oshkosh; St. Elizabeth Hospital and the St. Elizabeth Hospital Foundation, Appleton; Affinity Medical Group, a regional network of 25 family practice and specialty clinics – 22 of which are recognized as NCQA Level III medical homes, the highest level of recognition – in 14 communities; Calumet Medical Center, Chilton; and Affinity Occupational Health.