Wisconsin Hospitals Vary in Regards to Flu Vaccinations for Employees

Friday, January 6th, 2023 -- 10:01 AM

(By Sarah Lehr, Wisconsin Public Radio) As an aggressive flu season ravages Wisconsin hospitals, public health officials are once again urging people to get their flu shots.

But not all hospitals require their employees to get those vaccines, and hospital immunization rates vary widely, according to a review of federal data by Wisconsin Public Radio. Across the state and country, the vast majority of hospital staff did get their flu shots, according to figures reported by hospitals to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

On average, 90 percent of staff at hospitals across Wisconsin got the vaccine, which was higher than the national average of 80 percent, according to the data which covers the last flu season.

But there were outliers. The Midwest Orthopedic Specialty Hospital in Franklin had the lowest flu vaccination rate of any Wisconsin hospital for which data was available.

There, just 34 percent of 124 workers got vaccinated against the flu last season, according to the CMS reports. Vernon Memorial Hospital in Viroqua likewise ranked at the bottom for Wisconsin vacation rates, with 70 percent of employees getting the flu vaccine.

A spokeswoman said the hospital "highly encourages" employees get the flu vaccine. Other Wisconsin hospitals had flu vaccination rates close to 100 percent, and those facilities tend to have mandatory vaccine policies.

That's the case at the Stoughton Hospital Association in Dane County, where 99 percent of 551 workers had their flu shot last season.

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