NYC DOHMH Letter: Ensuring Immunity of Health Care Workers
This letter provides guidance to health care facilities for determining immunity to measles among employees and contractors who have contact with patients. The letter details how an employee or contractor can demonstrate immunity, as well as provides information about post-exposure prophylaxis and exclusion from work. The letter also touches on education recommendations and reporting requirements.
Released May 6, 2019
NYC DOHMH Letter for Health Care Facility CEOs and CMOs
In light of the ongoing measles outbreak, the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene disseminated this letter to all health care facilities citywide. It details key actions all facilities should take to help stem the outbreak including ensuring all staff have proof of immunity to measles, educating medical staff about presentation of measles, posting informational signage, and appropriately screening for measles at facility entrances.
Released April 26, 2019
CDC Measles Outbreak Toolkit for Healthcare Providers
This toolkit from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention contains resources for effective conversations with patients regarding vaccines, resources to share with parents, and posters and other materials appropriate for office or clinic settings.
Last updated May 2, 2019
Materials and Sample Resources from Recent GNYHA Measles Update Webinar
Last month, GNYHA hosted a webinar to update member hospitals on the current measles outbreak, and to share best practices related to identification and isolation of suspected patients, as well as precautionary measures such as limiting visitors to minimize exposure risk. Materials and a recording of the webinar can be found here. We also thank NYU Langone Health for sharing resources they have developed related to visitor education, screening algorithms for hospital and ambulatory sites, and process workflows. These materials can be found at the link above. Numerous questions were raised during the webinar; New York State Department of Health and DOHMH colleagues are developing Frequently Asked Questions documents that GNYHA will share as soon as it is complete.
Member hospitals and health systems are encouraged to conduct outreach and education with patients and visitors about the availability and importance of measles vaccination. Members are also encouraged to expand immunization services and hours as may be possible, including to the broader community.
GNYHA will continue to inform members of developments and resources related to the current measles outbreak.