From: / Novant Health Medical and Religious Exemptions Committees for the 2013-2014 Flu Season
Date: / July 31, 2013
Subject: / Now accepting medical and religious exemption forms through Aug. 30, 2013
This fall we will join our colleagues at Wake Forest Baptist Health, Cone Health, Inova Health System, New Hanover Regional and hundreds of other healthcare organizations in requiring an annual influenza vaccination for all employees, physicians, volunteers, contract staff, students and others who work or provide services at a Novant Health facility.
Vaccination, coupled with proper hand hygiene and strong infection prevention measures, are easy, proactive steps that we can take to minimize patients’ exposure to the influenza virus. We also know that there are a limited number of employees who have medical conditions or religious beliefs that may prevent them from taking the influenza vaccine. If you believe you fall into one of these two categories, please read the information below.
Medical and religious exemptions
Employee occupational health (EOH) has many different vaccine types this year, including those that are free of eggs, pork, mercury and adjuvants/squalene for employees who request it. Please note that exemptions generally will not be granted if your request includes an allergy or religious objection to any of these elements.
If you still believe you qualify for a medical or religious exemption, please read the following information carefully:
§ You must complete the medical exemption form or the religious exemption form, which includes information from your healthcare provider or religious leader. The forms are linked here and are available in the flu resource tool kit on I-Connect.
§ All exemption requests must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. on Aug. 30, 2013. Any requests after that date will be declined and the requester will be required to take the vaccine.
§ Completed exemption requests must be scanned and emailed to the flu exemptions mailbox, as indicated at the bottom of the form. This address is found in Outlook by typing the word “flu” into your “To” line. Please note that EOH, your leader or other care providers will not be able to accept your exemption form.
Staff who file for an exemption will be notified of approval or denial between Sept. 15 and Oct. 1. A letter with the decision will be sent to your home and a copy sent to your manager.
§ Staff who are denied an exemption will be required to complete the vaccination process between Oct. 1 and Nov. 15. We will share more details about the vaccine process later this summer.
§ Staff who are approved for an exemption will be required to mask from Nov. 16 through March 31, 2014 within six feet of patients and will have a sticker on their ID badge that indicates the need for a mask. We will provide more details about masking in your exemption letter.
We understand you may have questions about this process. Read the Influenza FAQ, available on I-Connect, as your first step. If you still have questions, use the Novant Health Talkback, located in the bottom left of your I-Connect home page under Feedback. We will direct your question to the proper individual or group for a response. Questions or comments sent to individuals or other mail boxes will not be answered.
We are here to help patients focus on what really matters – getting better and staying healthy. That is our promise to patients and why mandatory vaccination for Novant Health staff and physicians is the next critical step in our journey to providing the safest healthcare for our patients.
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