KEYWORDS:
Physician education, community and partnerships

BACKGROUND:
Based on the 2000 NIS, Detroit has the lowest immunization coverage levels for 19-35 month olds of any urban area in the U.S. Because the Detroit Health Department serves only an estimated 10-13% of the children in the City, the responsibility of improving the immunization status of Detroit’s children rests primarily with the physician community.

OBJECTIVE(S):
To provide a single point of contact for 3 major health systems in Detroit and the hospitals and practices affiliated with those systems to facilitate the provision of immunization services, education and tools at all levels.

METHOD(S):
In June 2001, the Michigan Department of Community Health identified the 3 largest health systems with owned-practices in Detroit and assigned a nurse educator to each health system. A data collection instrument was developed so that consistent information could be collected on each system and hospital. Each nurse educator began with existing contacts within the system, explained our objectives, gathered information about the system, hospitals and owned-practices, identified the immunization-related needs of the system, and developed a plan for working with the system, hospitals and practices on identified needs.

RESULT(S):
The structure and needs of the institutions varied by health system. Each nurse educator was able to coordinate practices such as documentation, storage and handling policies, etc. throughout the system, provide education sessions at each staff level to promote best practices, and enhance system-wide use of established programs such as the registry, VFC, and AFIX.

CONCLUSIONS(S):
Identifying a single point of contact for providers at both the institutional and individual level can facilitate the sharing of immunization information and the implementation of recommended immunization practices.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Demonstrate one approach for reaching pediatric and family practice providers with current immunization information and tools by using a single-point-of contact to coordinate the flow of immunization-related information and services.