Waikato District Health BoardFriday 21 May 2010, 4:51PM
Media release from Waikato District Health Board
Waikato Hospital's Opportunistic Immunisation Service
coordinator Kim Hunter administered the service's 1000th
vaccination to six-month-old Bryan Shortland today.
Bryan today received the Pneumococcal immunisation as well as his
second dose in a series of three vaccinations to protect him
against Diphtheria, Tetanus, Whooping Cough, Polio, Hepatitis B and
Haemophilus Type B.
Mrs Hunter said the 1000th vaccination was a milestone for the
hospital considering before the Hospital Opportunistic Immunisation
Service's (HOIS) establishment in September 2009, hospital staff
were administering about 14 immunisations opportunistically per
month, and now they are doing between 60-80.
The HOIS has played a large part in Waikato Hospital exceeding
their 80 per cent immunisation target, set by the Ministry of
Health to be achieved by July this year, reaching 84 per cent
coverage for immunisations in under-two-year-olds, by March - well
ahead of schedule.
Mrs Hunter, who administers many of the immunisations herself, has
also worked tirelessly over the past nine months to educate and
support ward, emergency department, and clinic staff to be able to
do the immunisations as required by children whose parents
consent.
Taumarunui Hospital is Health Waikato's first rural hospital to
pilot the HOIS, with Thames Hospital soon to follow.