Las Vegas NowHospital Staff Told Get Vaccinated or Wear Surgical Masks

Hospital Staff Told Get Vaccinated or Wear Surgical Masks

As the Southern Nevada Health District confirms the H1N1 virus is to blame for four more deaths, some local hospitals are reacting to try and stop the spread of the seasonal flu virus. But the new guidelines by Sunrise Health Hospitals across the Las Vegas valley have some upset, including some employees.

The guidelines are simple: either employees get vaccinated for the seasonal flu or they have wear a surgical mask while at work. Not everyone is on board with that idea, including one nurse who says getting a vaccinated should be her choice. “It's very upsetting because they say they care about how we feel and our health,” said MountainView Hospital nurse Sheila Travis.

Travis has been a nurse at MountainView for four years. Like other hospitals under Sunrise Health, MountainView Hospital officials say all employees that can are being encouraged to get vaccinated for the seasonal flu. According to a statement, “employees who are not vaccinated against the seasonal flu virus will be expected to wear masks when in direct patient contact.”

If they don't, those employees are expected to wear masks when in direct contact with patients. “It's not healthy for us to be in these masks. It's not built for 24 hours or 12 hours wearing,” said Travis.

Travis says constantly wearing the mask makes for an uncomfortable working condition. But she says if workers choose not to wear the mask, the consequences could prove stiff. “Written up. The next time suspended and possibly fired,” she said.

According to Sunrise Health, the guidelines for wanting employees vaccinated are in place for one main goal -- preventing the spread of flu among patients. “Our efforts regarding the seasonal flu shots for employees were all developed with one simple goal in mind - preventing the spread of the flu virus among our patients,” officials said in a statement.

“I think it's perfectly ok. I feel safer if they would wear them, one way or the other,” said MountainView patient Judith Rodriguez.

Rodgriguez was a recent patient at MountianView and agrees with the Sunrise Health policy, but only to a certain extent. “I don't think they should have to wear it constantly,” she said.

She thinks unvaccinated employees should wear a mask when around patients, but not all the time. “Compromise, because we don't want the nurses walking out -- we don't want anybody getting fired. We are only thinking of the public’s safety,” she said.

That’s something Travis believes, with the constant wearing of masks, could be compromised. “You’re not giving your full attention to the patient because you’re pulling at your mask your trying to get some air. It is very much distracting,” she said.

Travis says she didn't get the flu shot is because she had an allergic reaction the last time she did. She says those are the same concerns of the few other employees who've decided to not get vaccinated.

According to Sunrise Health, at Sunrise and Southern Hills Hospitals, more than 90-percent of staff received the seasonal flu vaccine. That's more than double the national average.