Nursing home doctors and staff have numerous responsibilities to patients and residents. Staff members work to care for the everyday needs of residents, as well as treat certain health care needs. When staff members and doctors fail in these responsibilities and a resident is injured as a result of nursing home neglect the negligent employee, or even the nursing home itself, may be liable for the injuries incurred.
Now it appears that New York health care workers, including those at nursing homes, have an additional responsibility to get the flu vaccine in order to protect the health of the patients. The state Health Department recently announced that all workers should have the vaccination against influenza, and if they do not, then the workers are ordered to wear masks.
The state initially tried to require workers to get the vaccine, but was met with union opposition. The risk to patients contracting the potentially deadly disease is so real that the Health Department went with the ultimatum of making workers wear masks if they did not comply.
The flu is a respiratory disease and is considered contagious. It is especially dangerous to elderly people and those in poor health, which is why nursing home staff should be careful to adhere to the new Health Department orders.
If a health care worker refuses to get the flu shot, then the worker will be required to wear a mask at any point in time when the state Heath Department says that influenza is a concern. The riskiest months are between October and May.
Efforts by the Health Department appear to be working and more health care employees are getting the vaccine. But patients and families of patients in nursing homes should pay attention to the state’s order and make sure that the nursing home is following protocol. If a patient contracts the flu because an employee acted negligently, New York nursing home negligence lawyers would probably tell our readers that there may be a case for a legal claim.
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NY nursing home workers ordered to get flu shot or wear mask
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Jay W. Dankner
JAY W. DANKNER was born, raised and educated in Brooklyn, New York. After graduation from law school in 1973, he joined the firm of the legendary, Harry H, Lipsig, under whose tutelage he learned the intricacies of civil litigation and trials. He tried and won his first case against General Motors in a case involving a design defect within weeks after his admission. Thereafter, he focused his attention on the emerging and developing field of law known as products liability litigation.
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