By Beacon Staff
Due to a federal mandate issued on Nov. 4, 2021, health care workers across the country are facing termination from their jobs if they aren’t fully vaccinated by Jan. 4, 2022.
It is an unwelcome scenario that local healthcare facilities worry could add to an already problematic shortage of qualified workers.
"We're concerned about this," said Matt Wenzel, Great River Health System CEO. "Like any other industry right now, there is a workforce shortage."
Under the federal mandate, employees must receive both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the single Johnson & Johnson vaccine by the January deadline.
The mandate comes from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that oversees reimbursements to hospitals. Failure to comply would result in the loss of Medicare and Medicaid funding. In that event, patients would not be able to submit medical expenses for reimbursement, nor would the hospital receive those funds.
More than half of the annual revenue for the hospital system comes in the form of Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements, according to Wenzel.
"We have no choice but to comply," he said. "This isn't just happening at Great River Health System; it's happening to every hospital."
At Danville Care Center, most of the nursing home's 35 employees are vaccinated according to Sarah Morehouse, Director of Nursing. She expected the federal mandate might result in the loss of a couple employees at most.
"We haven't lost anybody yet," she added.
At Great River Health, Wenzel said they are doing their best to support employees.
Because of the vaccination schedule, employees must receive their first dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine by Dec. 6, 2021, to continue working. After that date, unvaccinated employees will be required to take a leave of absence or use PTO.
Any employees who have not been fully vaccinated by Jan. 4, 2022, will have their employment terminated.
At the West Burlington hospital campus, 66 percent of employees are vaccinated, with 59 percent at the Fort Madison campus and 77 percent at the Henry County Health Center. The overall vaccination rate is 67 percent.
"We recognize this is an individual decision. People are trying to make the best decisions for themselves. We are trying to do all we can to help our employees through this," Wenzel said.