Improving Childhood Immunization Rates In Maine: Joining Forces for Success

Background:  Childhood immunizations are one of the most cost-effective preventive health services and impact the health of the entire population.  This presentation will detail how MaineHealth, the largest integrated health system in Northern New England, developed and is leading strategic partnerships with public and private stakeholders to forge a coordinated, focused initiative to increase the state’s child immunization rate to the highest in New England by 2016. 

Setting:  Health system, ambulatory practice, community organizations

Population: Healthcare professionals, public health organizations, coalitions and health systems

Project Description:  Like many other states, Maine has experienced an increase in vaccine refusal and delay, and its immunization rates have stagnated.  While many groups have supported child immunization, actions were often diffuse and lacked resources.  In 2010, MaineHealth selected childhood immunization as one of its six top health improvement priorities, and allocated significant resources to:  1) Identify challenges and opportunities to increase Maine’s childhood immunization rate; 2) Engage in collaborative planning  with stakeholders to pursue shared clinical, community, and policy priorities; and 3) Develop tactics and identify resources to address strategic priorities and disseminate lessons learned.

Results/Lessons Learned:  Since 2010, MaineHealth and its partners have accomplished outcomes that could never have been accomplished by working independently: passage of Maine’s Universal Childhood Immunization law and training of more than 225 practices; increased use of ImmPact2 to meet meaningful use criteria; pilot testing family education resources; developing and testing practice-based quality improvement strategies; procurement of external funding to develop a web-based toolkit for point-of-care education of families by clinical office staff and to form a group to explore vaccinating in alternative settings; and the formation of a statewide Childhood Immunization Task Force to gain consensus on priority strategies and action plans.  With continued focus, MaineHealth expects to document a gradual increase in childhood immunization rates.  Lessons learned can help others do the same.