Resources for Vaccine Conversations with Employees and Patients, Other New/Updated Resources, Webinars,

Washington State Department of Health sent this bulletin at 09/26/2023 03:15 PM PDT

Dear POP Members,

Our September Provider Spotlight features Svetlana Shur, who owns an in-home care organization in Spokane Valley and serves as Director of Operations.

"We serve a lot of veterans in our local community. We work with vulnerable people whose bodies don’t function like ours, so they are prone to a lot of diseases and are at high risk of severe disease and death if they contract COVID-19. My employees go to their homes, and they take care of them. We also have a lot of hospice clients and sometimes we're there sitting by the bed holding their hand, giving 24-hour care.

When I hire caregivers, I ask them if they're vaccinated because it's very important. I give them information and try to answer their questions and point them to where they can get the vaccine. If they have any questions, they can ask me. Sometimes I talk it over with caregivers who are hesitant, and they agree to get vaccinated. They aren't scared to do it after our discussion. I also talk with clients and give them information and tell their family that vaccination is for the safety of our clients and caregivers. We want to work in a safe environment. I'm glad that if I have any questions, I can contact POP.

About 90% of my employees are vaccinated. I talked to one employee about being vaccinated and her husband was telling her not to do it. After explaining the benefits of being vaccinated and why I wanted her to be vaccinated, she acknowledged that she works around vulnerable adults and didn’t want to spread infection to anybody. She changed her mind because I was patient with her and explained without getting frustrated.”

When encouraging vaccinations, Svetlana suggests, “Give people printed information to read and encourage them to ask questions. Give them your contact information because most of them have questions after they leave or after speaking with friends and family. There is a ton of misinformation out there, it is our work to educate people.”

Special thanks to Svetlana for doing her best to protect and care for vulnerable Washingtonians and sharing her COVID-19 vaccine promotion strategies!

Here are some resources to support your conversations with employees and patients about COVID-19 and flu vaccines:

Bridge Access Program Communications Toolkit for Partners (CDC)
Toolkit: Fall 2023 Vaccination Promotion (PHCC)
Combating Misinformation: How to Talk About Science (Frameworks Institute)

Here are some additional new/updated resources you might find helpful:

POP has new posters to support you in communicating with patients and students about getting vaccinated and wearing masks. Posters linked below are 8.5x11; visit the POP Member Page for additional sizes.

Back to School Vaccine Appointment Poster

The POP Shop has recently been upgraded! Check out our new posters and other patient materials. They are still free to order and shipped to you at no charge.
Your patients can now order free at-home COVID-19 tests through COVID.gov or the US Post Office.

Upcoming Events

Fostering COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence in Russian- and Ukrainian-Speaking Communities (CE’s available until 9/30)
October 5: Flu Vaccine Updates Webinar
October 12: Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy: Lessons from Motivational Interviewing

POP Peer-to-Peer Learning Webinars

All POP webinars are from noon to 1:00 p.m. PT.

November 3: Vaccine Fatigue- Addressing the Elephant in the Room with

Gretchen LaSalle, MD, FAAFP.

Behavioral Health Series with Kira Mauseth, PhD.

October 18: COVID-19 Disaster Cascade Recovery Updates (CME available)
November 17 (new date!): Beyond Burnout & Resilience: Purpose and Adaptability for Health Care Providers
December 8: Beyond Burnout & Resilience: Connection and Hope for Health Care Providers

We are pursuing CE accreditation credits for physicians, medical assistants, and nurses for all events listed above and will provide additional information on how to apply for CE credit prior to each event.

We appreciate all that each one of you do and we hope you all enjoy the transition into autumn!

Power of Providers (POP) Team 

Prevention and Community Health Division 

Washington State Department of Health 

360-236-2662 | powerofproviders@doh.wa.gov 

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