The Department of Health (DOH), in cooperation with the Department of Social and Health Services, the Adult Family Home Council, the Washington Health Care Association, LeadingAge Washington, the Community Residential Services Association, and the Washington Long-Term Care (LTC) Advisory Committee is proud to continue this immunization recognition program.
The Long-Term Care COVID-19 Immunization Champion Award has been replaced by the 2024 LTC Respiratory Immunization Award. This program recognizes LTC facilities, nursing homes, and agencies in Washington that obtain a flu vaccination rate of at least 55%, and a COVID-19 vaccination rate of at least 20% among their employees. This staff vaccination award recognition program launched in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now it is an annual staff vaccination award that includes flu and COVID-19 vaccines. Annual award enrollment and data submission begins in February and runs through May. In celebration of Immunization Awareness Month, awards will be delivered in August.
To participate, facilities will report the COVID-19 and flu vaccination status for their health care personnel, which are defined as all paid employees and volunteers who are present in the facility during the identified reporting cycle. Facilities will also select a barrier to health care personnel vaccination during registration to address throughout the upcoming recognition period.
At the end of the reporting cycle, the facility will confirm their COVID-19 and flu staff vaccination progress by submitting a report of their COVID-19 and flu vaccination rates and share their selected barrier. This partnership recognizes facilities that achieve benchmark vaccination rates and reports on outcomes.
The Long-Term Care Respiratory Immunization Award has three different award levels recognizing facilities and long-term care supporting organizations at three levels:
| Award | Flu | COVID-19 |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | ≥ 80% | ≥ 40% |
| Silver | 70-79% | 30-39% |
| Bronze | 55-69% | 20-29% |
*Vaccinated staff have had their CDC recommended vaccination and are considered “up to date” by CDC’s definition at the time the reported data on staff vaccinations were collected.
For example, if you had 80% for flu and 39% for COVID-19, then you would achieve the Silver Award. Minimum staff vaccination rates to place for award are 55% flu and 20% COVID-19.
Awardees
The Immunization Champion Awardees for Fall/Winter 2023 have been selected. These long-term care facilities have an employee COVID-19 vaccination rate of 80% or higher.
The Award Process
To qualify for the Long-Term Care Respiratory Immunization Award, facilities must do the following:
- Fill out the registration survey no later than May 31, 2024.
- Determine the highest percentage of employees working in your facility vaccinated against COVID-19 and flu in your facility from May 1, 2023 to April 30, 2024.
- Select a COVID-19 and flu vaccination barrier your facility plans to address.
- Fill out the final survey to complete data reporting by June 3, 2024. If your sites report to NHSN, see the Final Survey section below for information.
Step 1: Initial Registration Survey
Fill out the initial registration survey
The registration survey will ask for your facility's information, point of contact, and the staff vaccination barrier you will focus on (see list in step 2 for barrier ideas).
Facilities eligible for this award include:
- Adult Family Homes
- Assisted Living Facilities
- Continuing Care Retirement Facilities
- Multiple Function Facilities/Agencies
- Nursing Homes
- Supported Living Agencies
- Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities
- Enhanced Services Facilities
If you are unsure if your specific workplace qualifies, please email us at ltcaward@doh.wa.gov.
Step 2: COVID-19 and Flu Vaccination Barriers
After you choose a COVID-19 and flu vaccination barrier, you will decide how to address it. Then work independently on your chosen barrier and intervention throughout the entire season. If you have difficulty coming up with ideas, please look at the COVID-19 and Flu Vaccine Barriers PDF below, which provides sample barriers and how to overcome them. If you have already removed barriers and all staff are fully vaccinated, select Vaccine Barrier 5, and note all barriers have been cleared.
COVID-19 and Flu Vaccine Barriers (PDF)
Step 3: Employee COVID-19 and Flu Vaccination
Once your facility has addressed your vaccination barrier for the annual period, you are ready to complete the final reporting survey. Collect the highest percentages of employees vaccinated against both COVID-19 and the flu between May 1, 2023, through April 30, 2024. The two separate staff vaccination percentages reported must both be derived from within the past seasonal year and may come from different reporting periods within that seasonal year. To be considered for the award, the two different outcome numbers for COVID-19 and flu staff immunization percentage rates must be reported by June 3, 2024. Facilities do not need to report any specific or identifying information about their employees.
Organizations who complete the steps above will be recognized with the appropriate level recognition, including an award certificate, a Long-Term Care Respiratory Immunization Award window cling and award program logo for use on your website, in social and print media campaigns. Award recipients will be recognized on an honor roll posted to the DOH web page.
When completing the survey reporting employee vaccination information, facility policy, CDC, and Influenza vaccine recommendations should be utilized to guide reported staff participation and vaccination status.
Final Survey
DOH will email your facility contact when the final survey can be completed. Additionally, we will post the survey link when it is ready. You must complete the above steps before you can complete the final survey.
If you are a facility that reports flu and COVID-19 staff vaccination data to NHSN, continue doing so. If your facility uses NHSN to report staff flu and COVID-19 data, that same information will automatically be used for this award. Therefore, final survey completion or duplicate reporting in the LTC Respiratory Immunization Award Data Reporting Survey. is not required.
Resources
- COVID-19 Vaccines for Long-term Care Residents | CDC
- People with Certain Medical Conditions | CDC
- Respiratory Viruses and Older Adults | Respiratory Illnesses | CDC
- Interim Guidance for Influenza Outbreak Management in Long-Term Care and Post-Acute Care Facilities | CDC
- Prevention Strategies for Seasonal Influenza in Healthcare Settings | CDC
- Washington State Department of Health COVID-19 Vaccine website
- Immunization Action Coalition of Washington
- Department of Social and Health Services
Contact Us
If you have any questions or comments about the Long-Term Care Respiratory Immunization Award program or other immunization/vaccination questions, please contact us at ltcaward@doh.wa.gov.
Please note that DOH does not regulate or supervise long-term care facilities. This program is voluntary for any organizations or facilities who wish to participate. The Long-Term Care Respiratory Immunization Award is made possible through the association member organizations, DSHS, and DOH partnership.