COVID-19 vaccine mandate could create issues for New York hospitals
An upcoming state mandate could see healthcare workers leaving their jobs, thus hurting hospitals in the Empire State.
An upcoming state mandate could see healthcare workers leaving their jobs, thus hurting hospitals in the Empire State.
An upcoming state mandate could see healthcare workers leaving their jobs, thus hurting hospitals in the Empire State.
With New York State requiring COVID-19 vaccines for healthcare workers later this month, State Senator Dan Stec and some of his colleagues are asking Governor Kathy Hochul to reconsider the mandate.
“We can't afford to lose any of our healthcare workers right now,” said Stec. “On top of that, what an awful message it is to send these folks after 18-months of killing themselves to work in hazardous environments to take care of us during the pandemic that this is their thank you.”
Stec wants to give healthcare workers that don't want the vaccine the option to be tested weekly.
“We're not giving them a testing alternative,” Stec went on. “It's either vaccinate or lose your job. That's pretty strong medicine.”
At the Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH), they're expecting to lose some employees because of the mandate.
“We assume that there will be some people who will opt to remain unvaccinated rather than continue employment with us if the state doesn't back off,” said Dr. Wouter Rietsema, the Vice President of Population Health and Information Services at CVPH. “That will create a huge issue for us.”
Even though over 90% of the staff at CVPH is vaccinated, losing workers could mean losing a level of care.
“Even if we lost 5% of our staff, which is 100 people, if those 5% are involved in patient care areas that are already short, we're not going to be able to provide the same level of service that we do now, which is already a challenge,” said Rietsema.
According to the mandate, healthcare workers in New York need to have the first dose by September 27th.