In an earlier blog post, I wrote about mandatory vaccine policies and some of the protests that it had initiated. One of the biggest protests threatened by California Nurses Union (CNU/NNOC), has been called off after an agreement was reached to establish a national standard for containing the spread of the H1N1 virus, as well as other pandemics, according to a recent HealthLeaders Media article.

The hospitals involved will sign an agreement to comply with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration guidelines. The agreement includes proper training and personal protective equipment.

The strike was originally set for October 30 and was to involve more than 13,000 registered nurses from 32 hospitals in California and Nevada. Nurses are arguing that some hospitals have not done enough to protect their staff members from the H1N1 flu. A task force of RNs and hospital representatives, with the help of infection control teams, will monitor hospitals’ implementation of federal, state, and local flu guidelines.

What do you think of this agreement? How does your hospital stand up to this? Are they taking enough precautions to protect frontline staff members?