Anyone 18 and older can get the vaccine at event
Baptist Memorial Health Care will host a free flu shot event for the community on Monday, Oct. 27 from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Collierville, 1500 West Poplar, in the private dining room. Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto, located at 7601 Southcrest Parkway in Southaven, Miss., will distribute vaccines between 4 and 6 p.m. at the north entrance of the hospital.
The goal of the event is to raise awareness about the importance of getting a yearly flu shot. Educational information about flu will be available.
“The No. 1 way to prevent getting the flu is by getting a yearly flu vaccine,” said Amy Kirby, manager of infection control at Baptist DeSoto. “The event represents a free and easy way for community members to get a vaccine.”
Seasonal flu is a serious disease that causes illness, hospitalizations, and deaths every year in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the annual direct costs (hospitalization, doctors’ office visits, medications, etc.) of influenza are estimated at $10.4 billion. Additionally, up to 111 million workdays are lost because of influenza at an estimated $7 billion a year in sick days and lost productivity.
The CDC recommends the flu shot for healthy people 6 months and older. However, because of the brand of vaccine being used, Baptist is only offering the flu vaccine to those 18 and older.
Groups that should not receive the flu vaccine include anyone who is sick with a fever or those with an egg or mercury allergy. Those with a history of Guillain-Barre syndrome should talk to their doctor before receiving the flu vaccine.
For more information about the event, please call 800-4-BAPTIST.
About Baptist Collierville
Baptist Collierville opened its doors in May 1999. With all the amenities of home, this full-service hospital sits on a 75-acre park-like campus and features extra-large patient rooms and a walking trail. Medical services include a full-service emergency room, inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation, inpatient and outpatient surgery, a step-down unit, seven bed intensive care unit, inpatient and outpatient diagnostics, the Baptist Sleep Disorders Center, a women’s center and 81 acute care beds. In 2012, Baptist Collierville was named a Top Performer in the Joint Commission’s Top Performers on Key Quality Measures™.
About Baptist DeSoto
Baptist DeSoto is a 339-bed hospital that offers diagnostic, surgical and rehabilitation services. It has an 11-story tower, featuring all-private rooms, expanded operating suites and a multi-specialty emergency room. In 2010, Baptist DeSoto received the Hospital of the Year award (100 beds or more) from the Mississippi Nurses Association. The hospital offers open-heart surgery and a number of other cardiovascular services, and the emergency department’s heart attack response rate is, on average, 30 minutes faster than the national benchmark. Baptist DeSoto’s inpatient rehabilitation program ranked in the top 1 percent in the nation for quality in a report based on 2009 performance outcomes. In 2010, the hospital’s Women’s Center became the first breast imaging facility in DeSoto County to offer digital mammography. In 2011, Baptist DeSoto’s emergency department was upgraded to a level III trauma designation. In 2012, Baptist DeSoto ranked No. 1 in the state of Mississippi for heart services by HealthGrades. Most recently, U.S News & World Report rated Baptist DeSoto as the best hospital in Mississippi.