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HOSPITALS




HOW MANY EMPLOYEES HAVE HOSPITALS LOST TO VACCINE MANDATES? HERE ARE THE NUMBERS
SO FAR

by Dave Muoio |
Jan 13, 2022 7:00am
Executives and industry figures have warned that mandates and an ongoing
staffing shortage could place some hospitals and health systems in a bind.
(Getty/RyanKing999)
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The past several months have seen thousands of hospitals announce COVID-19
vaccination requirements for staff and clinicians as a condition of employment.



Although controversial, the policies picked up steam when Pfizer and BioNTech’s
Comirnaty received a full regulatory approval. Mandate announcements really
kicked into gear when the Biden administration made workforce vaccination a
requirement for Medicare and Medicaid participation — a legally contentious
decision that was ultimately upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Most health system leaders and professional organizations have been supportive
of the requirement, with some describing vaccination as “the logical fulfillment
of the ethical commitment of all healthcare workers to put patients as well as
residents of long-term care facilities first.”




However, some executives and industry figures have warned that mandates might
place provider organizations in a bind as disgruntled employees choose to walk
away rather than comply.

RELATED: Supreme Court upholds HHS' vaccine requirement for healthcare workers,
blocks OSHA's large employer mandate

“As a practical matter, this policy may result in exacerbating the severe
workforce shortage problems that currently exist,” American Hospital Association
President and CEO Rick Pollack said in a Sept. 9 statement.

Arkansas’ Community Hospital Executive Director James Magee said Sept. 22 that
his 25-bed rural facility would not require COVID-19 vaccinations. He stressed
that staffing issues and the fear of losing too many nurses were major factors
in the decision.

“Mandating that really works a hard step on the smaller hospitals because we
don’t have an extra pool of nurses to draw from out there,” he told local news
group KAIT.

Some industry figures have pushed back on staffing fears. Ezekiel J. Emanuel,
M.D., vice provost for global initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania and
a former White House health policy adviser, pointed to the limited workforce
fallout among the summer’s early movers as an acceptable loss for workforce-wide
coverage.

“If you look at healthcare systems that have actually mandated this, they’ve
retained over 99% of their workforce,” he said in support of the mandates during
an August press event. “Their workforce does go along when the employer requires
it.”

As some provider organizations reach their first deadlines for partial or full
vaccination, more reports are trickling out on just how many employees hospitals
and health systems are losing to vaccine mandates.

Fierce Healthcare will update this list as more deadlines are reached and
hospitals share their numbers.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Advocate Aurora Health has terminated 440 employees who were not vaccinated for
COVID-19. These employees, half of whom worked part time, represent less than 1%
of the system's roughly 75,000 workers.

Albany Med has reportedly suspended 204 of its more than 11,000 employees as of
Sept. 28. They have a week to comply before facing termination.

Baystate Health suspended 145 workers who missed an Oct. 1 deadline and
ultimately fired 90 who remained noncompliant by a secondary Oct. 15 deadline.
It employs nearly 12,000 people.

Beaumont Health has seen 70 vaccine-related resignations and has another 370
suspended employees who missed an Oct. 18 vaccination deadline, the system said.
The suspended staff have until Nov. 16 to enter compliance before being
terminated. Beaumont Health employs about 33,000 people, roughly 2,300 of whom
the system said were granted an exemption to the vaccination mandate.

Centra Health lost 36 caregivers to its vaccination requirement. Five were
terminated while 31 resigned voluntarily. The organization told press that the
departures account for less than a percent of its total workforce and do not
impact its staffing.

Central Maine Healthcare has seen 84 resignations and has 250 employees with no
vaccination records as of Oct. 11. The provider said it will be temporarily
suspending some services and has been in contact with the governor's office for
support. The state's COVID-19 vaccination mandate for healthcare staff goes into
effect at the end of October.

CHI Memorial said that less than 1% of its roughly 4,600 employees had resigned
due to the vaccine requirement as of three days before it took effect. 

ChristianaCare President and CEO Janice Nevin, M.D., wrote in a Sept. 27 blog
post that the system's vaccination policy resulted in the loss of approximately
150 employees, the equivalent of fewer than 90 full-time employees. Fewer than
48 full-time equivalents provided direct patient care and fewer than 12
full-time equivalents were nurses. Nevin also noted that ChristianaCare, which
employed 13,412 during 2020, had also hired more than 200 caregivers during the
last month alone.

CoxHealth CEO and President Steve Edwards tweeted that 64 of his company's
12,500 employees (0.51%) chose not to be vaccinated and were discharged. 

Crouse Hospital terminated 45 employees who did not meet the state's COVID-19
vaccine requirement. It employs roughly 3,100 people.

Esperanza Health Centers, a five-clinic network of community health centers in
Chicago, reportedly lost two of its 311 employees. Notably, Esperanza did not
allow for religious exemptions.

Henry Ford Health System reported on Oct. 5 that about 400 employees had
voluntarily resigned due to the vaccination requirement, representing about 1%
of the system's total workforce. Another 1,900, about 6%, had received medical
or religious exemptions. The Detroit-based provider also noted that new hires
"are already offsetting those team members who resigned." 

Hospital for Special Surgery in New York lost 18 out of 5,000 employees to
vaccine resignations and terminations.

Houston Methodist, the first to announce a vaccine mandate, said it had 153
resignations or terminations among its roughly 26,000-person workforce.

Indiana University Health had 125 of its 35,800 employees resign from their jobs
due to the vaccine requirement. A spokesperson told Fierce Healthcare on Sept.
23 that many were part-time workers and that the departures were the equivalent
of 61 full-time employees.

Inova Health dropped 89 of its 20,000-person workforce due to noncompliance with
its Sept.1 vaccination requirement. 

Kaiser Permanente announced that "just over" 2,200 employees from its nationwide
workforce of roughly 240,000 had not met its vaccine requirement and were placed
on administrative leave as of Oct. 4. The nonprofit said that the tally is
declining daily, as suspended employees have until Dec. 1 to enter compliance
and return to work.

Lewis County Health System said it has seen 30 resignations as of Sept. 11 in
the wake of announcing its vaccine mandate and as a result has been forced to
pause maternal health services. At that time, 165 of the provider’s unvaccinated
staff had not yet indicated whether they would comply or leave the
single-hospital system. Lewis County Health System employs about 650 people and
will see its mandate go into effect Sept. 27.

Maimonides Medical Center said it had 35 terminations tied to vaccination
requirements. It employee 6,500, an additional 100 of which were claiming
religious exemption as of mid-October.

MaineHealth representative Caroline Cornish told Fierce Healthcare that 58 out
of its team of 23,000 had resigned and cited the vaccination requirement among
their reasons, as of Sept. 24.

Mayo Clinic reportedly fired 700 employees on Jan. 4 who did not comply with its
COVID-19 vaccination policy. This represents just under 1% of Mayo Clinic's
total of 73,000 employees. The system said that those who were let go will be
able to reapply for job openings should they receive vaccines in the future. 

Med Center Health said it had fired 180 employees from its workforce of roughly
3,800 who had not been vaccinated by Sept. 1. It also highlighted the hiring of
178 vaccinated employees who would begin within a week of the firings.

Medical University of South Carolina Health fired five employees who had not met
its June 30 vaccination or exemption deadline. It employs more than 17,000
people.

Mercy announced that it terminated about 2% of its 40,000-person
workforce—roughly 800 people. These firings came after a 28-day unpaid
suspension period for those who were not in compliance with the policy announced
in July.

MetroHealth reportedly terminated four of its nearly 7,800 employees due to its
vaccine mandate. Another 13 decided to retire or leave the organization. 

Mohawk Valley Health System announced on Sept. 28 that New York's mandate led
180 employees, about 5% of the workforce, to separate from the system. This has
increased its vacancy rate from 13.7% to 17.5%. The system also noted that other
unvaccinated employees have been placed on unpaid leave and have until Oct. 9 to
receive a vaccine and return to their position. Hospital services are still
operating at both of the system's campuses, although service delays and other
limitations will be likely going forward.

Mount Sinai Health System has reportedly lost 1% of its 42,000-person workforce
who chose not to be vaccinated. 

NYC Health + Hospitals has about 2,500 unvaccinated workers, about 5% of its
43,000 staff, that has not met the state's vaccination requirement. 

NewYork-Presbyterian had "fewer than 250" team members who did not comply with a
Sept. 22 vaccination mandate and "no longer work" at the organization, according
to a statement provided to Fierce Healthcare. The system said it has achieved
more than 99% compliance among its 48,000 employees and affiliated doctors and
will see no interruptions in care due to the mandate.

Northern Light Health representative Karen Cashman told Fierce Healthcare that,
as of Sept. 24, 89 employees had left the system due to its COVID-19 vaccine
mandate. As of a Sept. 15 news conference, 91% of the system’s more than 12,000
employees had been vaccinated.

Northwell Health has reportedly fired about 1,400 one week after New York's
vaccine mandate went into effect. This also includes at least two dozen
employees at the manager level or above that did not receive COVID-19 vaccines
by a prior internal deadline. It employed more than 76,000 workers.

Novant Health has fired more than 175 employees who were not compliant with its
COVID-19 vaccination requirement. The system said Sept. 21 that it had initially
suspended about 375 of its more than 35,000 total employees due to vaccination
noncompliance. Nearly 200 of those employees became compliant during the
five-day suspension period and avoided termination.

NYU Langone has reportedly terminated 75 employees out of its 40,000-person
staff. 

Ochsner Health announced in early December that roughly 280 employees out of its
nearly 30,000-person workforce were leaving the organization due to its
vaccination policy. The Louisiana-based system said that about 180 of those are
pro re nata employees who were working on an as-needed basis. 

Olean General Hospital said it had seen 11 resignations ahead of New York’s
Sept. 27 deadline for a first dose. As of Sept. 14, more than 250 of its 840
employees had not been vaccinated.

Richmond University Medical Center had a dozen resignations but did not disclose
other terminations. It employs about 2,000 people.

Riverside Healthcare gave 40 employees who were not in compliance with its
vaccination requirement after a two-week suspension the axe. It employs about
2,900 people. 

RWJBarnabas Health has terminated 118 employees who did not meet its Oct. 15
vaccination deadline, with the remaining 99.7% of its 35,000-person workforce
either receiving the vaccination or an exemption. The system had previously
announced back in July the firing of six employees at the supervisor level who
had not complied with a requirement for upper staff to be vaccinated by June
30. 

Rush University Medical Center has nearly 100 employees in jeopardy of
termination due to vaccination requirement noncompliance, as of an Oct. 20
report.

Samaritan Medical Center in New York said it terminated 28 employees who did not
comply with the state's vaccine requirements after a two-week suspension. It
employs over 2,000 people.

Shriners Hospital for Children in Louisiana reportedly fired over a dozen
employees who chose not to be vaccinated before a Dec. 6 deadline. 

Southcoast Health, a Massachusetts-based system, fired 216 medical workers who
did not comply with its vaccine mandate, the Herald News reports. Southcoast
employees roughly 7,500 people. 

Southern Illinois Healthcare let go of 220 people who did not meet its
vaccination requirement. It employs more than 3,700 according to its website.

St. Claire Regional Medical Center said it had fired 23 staff who had refused
vaccination. A spokesperson reportedly said these employees were a combination
of full-time, part-time and pro re nata employees and represented “less than 1%"
of its total workforce.

St. Joseph's Health in Syracuse fired 78 of its  3,810 employees who did not
meet New York's statewide vaccination deadline. They were among 122 who were
suspended and given until Oct. 8 to receive a vaccine or be fired. 

St. Luke's University Health Network said that 68 full-time employees and 87
part-time or per diem employees had decided against vaccination and resigned as
of its Sept. 25 deadline. Additionally, 668 had received a medical exemption,
religious exemption or a temporary deferral and will undergo weekly testing. St.
Luke's employs about 17,000 people.

St. Peter's Health Partners has suspended 322 unvaccinated employees out of its
11,000-plus workforce, as of Sept. 28. Those employees have until Oct. 8 to
become compliant. 

Sturdy Memorial Hospital, in Massachusetts, reportedly fired 33 employees who
did not meet its vaccination mandate. This represents about 1.6% of its
2,044-person workforce. 

Tidelands Health had just a single employee out of 2,010 who did not comply with
its mandate and chose to resign.

Three Rivers Hospital, a rural facility in Eastern Washington, said that it let
go of six out of its 129 employees, all of whom were per diem staff. 

Truman Medical Centers/University Health saw 39 resignations among its workforce
of roughly 5,000 due to a COVID-19 vaccination mandate.

UCHealth said that 119 out of its 26,500-person work did not receive COVID-19
vaccine or an exemption by the Colorado system's Oct. 1 deadline. A spokesperson
said that those employees are welcome to reapply for their positions should they
later receive the vaccine.

UMass Memorial Health let roughly 200 employees go after they missed a Dec. 1
vaccination deadline. The system employs about 15,000 people.

UNC Health has already seen 70 of its roughly 30,000 workers resign over a
COVID-19 vaccination mandate originally scheduled for Sept. 21 but now delayed
to Nov. 2. About 900 were still unvaccinated as of late September.

University of Vermont Health Network reported Sept. 28 that it had 30
mandate-related departures across three of its facilities—16 resignations at
Alice Hyde Medical Center, 12 terminations at Champlain Valley Physicians
Hospital and two resignations at Elizabethtown Community Hospital. These losses
have compounded with a rash of non-vaccine-related resignations and hour
reductions have led some of the system's hospitals to recruit travel nurses and
postpone inpatient surgical procedures for at least one week. 

Upstate University Hospital suspended or terminated 113 employees who did not
meet New York's statewide deadline, as of a Sept. 30 report. Some of those
workers will be able to return to their jobs if they receive a vaccine. The
Syracuse provider employs more than 6,600 people.

Valley Health has terminated 72 workers who were unvaccinated by its Sept. 21
final deadline. It employs 6,300 staff.

Virtua Health said it had 120 of its 14,000 employees choose to resign over the
five-hospital system's vaccine requirement. The South Jersey provider said that
98% of its remaining workforce is vaccinated, with the remainder receiving
exemptions. 

Yale New Haven Health System saw 94 departures among the 225 employees who had
been suspended over its vaccination requirement. The Connecticut system employs
more than 28,000 people, more than 700 of whom were granted exemptions and will
see weekly testing.

Read more on
COVID-19 Infection Control Workforce Workplace Safety Patient Safety Houston
Methodist Hospital Indiana University Health Medical University of South
Carolina RWJBarnabas Health UNC Health Care Joe Biden Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services (CMS)




ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dave Muoio
Staff Writer
dmuoio@questex.com
https://twitter.com/dave_muoio
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-muoio-412b22123/



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