COLUMBUS, Ohio — A growing number of Ohio hospitals are requiring that their employees get vaccinated for COVID-19 as a federal vaccine deadline for the health sector approaches.
What You Need To Know
- Some health systems are informing employees of a vaccine requirement in advance of a federal Jan. 4 deadline
- Ohio hospitals that have implemented requirements said only a small number of employees didn't comply
- In several cases, hospitals are modifying their vaccine rules to comply with the federal requirement
Announcing vaccine requirements, hospital officials said the federal requirement means they must move forward with the new policies.
“This is something that we really have no choice but to implement,” Genesis HealthCare CEO Matthew Perry told reporters Wednesday, announcing that the hospital has notified employees of a requirement.
Perry said the mandate applies to nearly all U.S. health care workers, and he stressed that it is separate from the vaccine, or weekly testing requirement for companies with more than 100 employees that is front of a U.S. appelate court.
The Zanesville hospital’s vaccination rate for employees is 55%. With the deadline approaching, Perry said the health system will offer multiple vaccine clinics and provide paperwork for exemptions, anticipating that many employees will seek one.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced two weeks ago that all health care facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid must require their employees complete vaccination by Jan. 4.
“The punishment as a health system is that there are very large fines if you don't abide by this rule, and they can also withdraw your ability to see Medicare and Medicaid patients. So that threat that is out there is kind of the ultimate authority,” Perry said.
Under the federal rule, health care employees only have the option of getting the vaccine or an exemption, which could be medical or religious.
Ohio hospitals that allowed for other pathways to forgo vaccination are adjusting their vaccine requirements to correspond with the federal rule, ending options for weekly testing and making exemptions more limited.
At some hospitals that had recent deadlines for vaccination, officials said a small number of unvaccinated employees are facing discipline.
But hospital officials said the mandates have resulted in improved vaccination rates, meaning that their employees will be better protected from the virus.
In a few other cases, hospital officials have not yet announced requirements and said they are still reviewing the federal mandate.
Which Ohio hospitals are requiring vaccination? Here are the latest policies:
Ohio State Wexner Medical Center is reporting a 93% vaccination rate for its employees following a deadline Monday for getting a second dose. Spokesperson Marti Leitch said 4% of its employees have an approved exemption, adding that Wexner is “working with the remaining 3% to come into compliance.”
Nationwide Children’s Hospital had an Oct. 1 deadline for employees to show that they’d completed vaccination. Spokesperson Danielle Warner said “nearly all” of the hospital’s employees are vaccinated. “Any employees not meeting requirements will be immediately work restricted,” Warner said.
Two of the major hospitals in central Ohio have upcoming deadlines. Mount Carmel Health’s employees have until Nov. 30 to show that they’ve been vaccinated, according to the Columbus Dispatch. OhioHealth’s vaccine deadline, which applies to 35,000 people, is Dec. 1.
MetroHealth announced at the beginning of the month that 94% of its employees are vaccinated. The health system gave its employees an Oct. 30 deadline, and only five employees were not in compliance. Twelve employees quit citing the mandate.
The Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals announced last week that their employees will be required to complete the vaccination process by Jan. 4, the federally mandated deadline. Both health systems said a majority of their employees are vaccinated, but did not provide specific vaccination rates.
UC Health and the Christ Hospital were among the first in the state to require vaccination, giving employees Oct. 1 deadlines. TriHealth and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital employees had vaccine deadlines a month later, on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, respectively.
The four health systems did not respond to requests for comment, or declined to comment, regarding their current vaccination rates and whether any employees have been disciplined.
Mercy Health in Cincinnati is requiring employees complete the vaccination process by Dec. 1, hospital officials said in court filings. Employees with Mercy Health in other parts of the state may have different deadlines, as the health system says its policies vary by region. Mercy Health did not respond to a request for comment.
Summa Health officials said that 91% of its employees were vaccinated and about 7% had received an exemption, as of the latest available data from Nov. 1, the day after the health system’s vaccine deadline.
For about 180 employees who did not satisfy the requirement, the remaining 2%, a progressive discipline process is underway. “It remains our hope that they will choose to become compliant prior to the conclusion of the discipline process in early December. Additional updates will be provided in the coming weeks,” officials said.
Akron Children’s Hospital began weekly testing for unvaccinated employees following a Nov. 1 deadline. According to the Akron Beacon Journal, the hospital intends to comply with the federal requirements, which do not allow for a weekly testing option for unvaccinated employees.
Kettering Health, Premier Health and Dayton Children’s Hospital have set Dec. 1 deadlines for employees to get vaccinated.
In response to the federal requirement, Kettering Health and Dayton Children’s announced that their policies will become more stringent.
“Dayton Children’s will no longer accept proof of previous COVID-19 infection, pregnancy and some other previously approved deferrals in order to comply with new standards put in place by CMS,” spokesperson Katie Solovey said.
Kettering Health made similar modifications to its policy and it will no longer accept proof of previous infection, hospital officials said in a statement to WHIO.
Employees of the University of Toledo Medical Center had until Monday to show proof of vaccination or have an approved exemption, university spokesperson Tyrel Linkhorn said. Linkhorn said officials are also monitoring the potential impact of the federal requirement.
ProMedica spokesperson Tausha Moore said the health system has not updated its policies at this point in time.