North Mississippi Medical Center-West Point has been recognized by the Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) for achieving one of the highest reported rates in the state for its work to protect newborns from hepatitis B virus infection. “It is an honor for our hospital to be recognized by the Immunization Action Coalition,” said Jane Windle, RN, director of nursing at NMMC-West Point. “We take pride in providing excellent care for our newborns.” NMMC-West Point is the newest entry into IAC’s Birth Dose Honor Roll (www.immunize.org/honor-roll/birthdose), which recognizes hospitals and birthing centers that have attained high coverage levels for administering the hepatitis B vaccine at birth. NMMC-West Point immunized 99 percent of babies from Oct. 1, 2013-Sept. 30, 2014 and took additional steps to prevent perinatal transmission of hepatitis B. The national standard of care to prevent hepatitis B virus infection in babies is to administer hepatitis B vaccine to all newborns before they leave the hospital. This standard is being adopted by centers of health care excellence nationwide as a safety net to protect newborns from a wide range of medical errors that lead to babies being unprotected from perinatal hepatitis B infection.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.