Healthcare Personnel Influenza Vaccination Report due May 2, 2016

The Department of Health (DOH) sent an e-mail last week to serve as a one month reminder that the annual required Healthcare Personnel Influenza Vaccination Report is due to DOH by close of business on May 2, 2016. This requirement applies to nursing homes, home care, hospice and hospital providers. The requirement also applies to staff of the home care component of the Assisted Living Program (ALP).

Below is additional information which was included in the DOH e-mail:

“Please note: Some users may find data from the 2014-15 season preloaded in their report. However, all facilities and agencies regulated under the flu mask regulation are legally mandated to submit a report EACH flu season. The 2015-16 report opened on November 2, 2015; therefore, data submitted prior to November 2, 2015 will NOT count toward compliance with report submission in the 2015-16 season. Users can check the date their report was last submitted by clicking the "Review and Submit" button at the top or bottom of the form. If the date of the report was before November 2, 2015, then the user should click the "Enter or Modify Data" button to edit and resubmit their data. After updating the data, the user should click "Save All" and then "Review and Submit." Finally, the user must click the "Submit to DOH" button. A report is not complete until the "Submit to DOH" button has been clicked.

This report will close on May 2, 2016 and can only be submitted through the Health Electronic Response Data System (HERDS) on the Health Commerce System. Questions about the Healthcare Personnel Influenza Vaccination Report should be directed to the New York State Department of Health Bureau of Immunization at either (518) 473-4437 or immunize@health.ny.gov. Step-by-step instructions for completing the report are online at www.health.ny.gov/flumaskreg. Technical questions about the report or on the use of HERDS should be directed to the Health Emergency Preparedness Program at (518) 408-5163 or hseppny@health.ny.gov.”

Contact: Diane Darbyshire, ddarbyshire@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8828 or Cheryl Udell, cudell@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8383.