Worcester physician, Boston nonprofit are honored
Waltham – April 11 – A Worcester physician and the entire nursing staff of a Boston nonprofit health agency have been honored by the Massachusetts Adult Immunization Coalition (MAIC) as 2017 Massachusetts Adult Immunization Champions.
The annual awards recognize an individual or organization that has made outstanding contributions to foster adult immunization in Massachusetts through leadership, innovation, or advocacy.
This year’s honorees are Lloyd D. Fisher, M.D., a physician with Reliant Medical Group in Worcester, and the nursing staff of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program.
Lloyd D. Fisher, M.D.
Lloyd D. Fisher, M.D., Reliant Medical Group
Nominated by his colleagues at Reliant, Dr. Fisher is also the Assistant Medical Director for Informatics at the multi-specialty group of 500 providers. To improve vaccination rates, Dr. Fisher incorporated tools into the practice’s electronic health records system to improve on-time vaccination rates for all of the group’s 300,000 patients. By providing reminders to providers that appear at every clinical visit, Dr. Fisher increased promotion of vaccine administration along with reports to identify and reach out to patients who have not received their vaccinations.
In addition to his application of health information technology, Dr. Fisher also served as principal investigator for a study evaluating the reasons why adults do not get flu and pneumonia shots. His findings led to automated methods to remind patients of scheduled vaccinations, with the result that Reliant now has some of the highest immunization rates in the nation.
Nursing Staff, Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program
The nursing staff of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP) is being honored for its response in February of 2016 to an outbreak of meningococcal disease in the homeless population in Boston that caused two deaths.
As a statewide effort began to combat the outbreak, the Boston Public Health Commission sought the assistance of BHCHP to lead the effort in Boston. Some 50 nurses acted quickly, vaccinating as many homeless and shelter-based patients as possible to halt the transmission and prevent future outbreaks. The nurses conducted dozens of vaccination clinics throughout the city of Boston, holding them at all hours of the day and night. Following the outbreak, more than 4,400 doses of the meningococcal vaccine have been administered by the nurses, most within the first two months of the outbreak.
Nurses of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program
Dr. Fisher and the BHCHP nursing staff will receive their awards at the Massachusetts Adult Immunization Conference to be held April 25 in Marlboro.
The Massachusetts Adult Immunization Coalition (MAIC), facilitated by the Massachusetts Medical Society and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, is a collaborative partnership of more than 200 public and private member organizations dedicated to increasing adult immunization through education, networking, and sharing innovative and best practices. MAIC includes representatives of local and state public health organizations, community health centers, insurers, pharmacies, physicians, vaccine manufacturers, long-term-care and senior service organizations, consumer advocacy groups, hospitals, home health, and college health services. Click links for more information about MAIC or the April 25th conference.