State's call elicits lists of volunteers

By Mary Powers
powers@gomemphis.com
December 21, 2002

Despite lingering concerns about vaccine safety and hospital liability, all Shelby County hospitals are participating in Tennessee's voluntary smallpox vaccination effort.

Hospital administrators on Friday began forwarding the names of hundreds of employees willing to be vaccinated to state health officials.

The shots could begin as early as January and include 13,000 Tennessee health professionals, public health workers, security and hospital housekeeping staffs.

The goal is to create a pool of protected workers ready to respond to an outbreak.

The response to the state's call two weeks ago for volunteers ranged from 15 at Saint Francis Hospital to more than 500 at Methodist Healthcare's five Shelby County hospitals.

The Baptist Memorial Health Care Corp. hoped to recruit 500 volunteers for its seven Tennessee hospitals.

"We feel like we are in good shape," Susan Ferguson, Baptist's interim chief nursing officer, said Friday afternoon.

Although the last naturally occurring smallpox case in the United States occurred in 1949 and the disease was officially eradicated from the world in 1980, the specter of a possible biological attack prompted President Bush to order the vaccination of about 500,000 military personnel.

The administration also proposed voluntary vaccinations for millions of health and emergency workers.

The vaccination is voluntary in part because it carries its own risks. At least two hospitals, in Atlanta and Richmond, Va., decided that for now the risks to staff and patients were too high.

Dr. Allen Craig, Tennessee state epidemiologist, said he believed one Tennessee hospital won't participate, but he wouldn't name it.

"We don't consider it a failure if a particular hospital or employee decides not to participate," he said. "We want the health workers to be comfortable with their decision."

Craig Becker of the Tennessee Hospital Association said that although its members are concerned about safety and potential liability, none indicated they don't plan to let employees volunteer.

"It will probably be more of a hands-off approach about getting volunteers," he said.

A spot check of Shelby County hospitals showed all were compiling volunteer lists.

Among reasons some cited for volunteering were a sense of professional responsibility and trust that the potential for an attack is real.

"I think there is a fairly low risk of serious complications. There is probably a greater risk of driving in Memphis on a Friday night," added Dr. Mike Quasney, intensive care specialist at Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center.

Dr. Bryan Simmons, Methodist medical director of infection control, said many who wanted to volunteer were disqualified due to personal or family health histories.

Debbie Breaux is an infectious disease nurse helping screen Saint Francis volunteers. She asks employees to consider their decision carefully, suggesting single individuals consider who they would turn to for care if they wound up at home sick for a few days as a result of the vaccine.

After considering such ques tions, Breaux said she wouldn't be volunteering.

"If there was an imminent threat, that would change immediately," she added.

The Regional Medical Center at Memphis expects to vaccinate about 100 staff members. By Friday about 50 had volunteered. Delta Medical Center also had 50. Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center had 35.

About 35 percent of the estimated 120 public health nurses at the Memphis & Shelby County Health Department had volunteered, as well as staff to fill an eight-person outbreak investigation team.

Yvonne Madlock, department director, said the response was adequate to start vaccinations if an outbreak ever occurred.

Simmons said it's more disquieting to contemplate the disease than the vaccine.

"This is like a bad dream," he said.

The eradication of smallpox was hailed as one of the medical and public health triumphs of the last century.

- Mary Powers: 529-2383