Vaccine mandate has hospital in turmoil
From unvaccinated hospital staff members who plead for their right to choose for themselves to the hospital administrator whose responsibility it is to keep Melissa Memorial Hospital open, the state’s COVID vaccine mandate for hospital staff has caused concern.
On Aug. 30, the Colorado State Board of Health, on a 6-1 vote, approved a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers across the state.
The rule applies to licensed and certified facilities regulated by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Medical and religious exemptions are both covered, and facilities will be able to determine what specifically qualifies as a religious exemption.
The board did approve the requirement for the 120 days in which emergency rules are typically set. However, the issue will appear again on Oct. 21 for a permanent rulemaking.
The measure will mean employees at about 3,800 licensed health care facilities across the state will now need to have their first vaccine dose by Sept. 30 and be fully vaccinated by Oct. 31.
More recently, on Thursday, Sept. 9, President Joe Biden issued two executive orders which, among other things, require all workers in most health care settings that receive Medicaid or Medicare to be fully vaccinated.
Across the country, states are seeing hospitals overwhelmed with COVID patients.
Emphasizing several points in his message last week, Biden said, “The vaccines provide very strong protection from severe illness from COVID-19. I know there’s a lot of confusion and misinformation. But the world’s leading scientists confirm that if you are fully vaccinated, your risk of severe illness from COVID-19 is very low.”
In his Thursday message, the president said, “This is not about freedom or personal choice. It’s about protecting yourself and those around you — the people you work with, the people you care about, the people you love. My job as president is to protect all Americans.”
After Biden’s announcement Thursday evening, the Republican National Committee said it would sue the Biden administration, calling the federal employee mandate “unconstitutional” and “authoritarian.”
A large number of staff members at MMH in Holyoke disagree with the mandate and cite a wide array of statistics, research and facts to back their beliefs. They’re more than frustrated with the vaccine mandate for hospital employees.
However, there’s also the consideration of community members who firmly believe in the vaccine — a few of which have already refused care from hospital staff who are not fully vaccinated.
Administrator processes the vaccine mandate
MMH administrator Cathy Harshbarger reported at the Aug. 24 local hospital board meeting that at that time, 62% of MMH staff members were not vaccinated. She said 47 employees had been vaccinated by choice, and 75 were not vaccinated.
Last week, she said a few more have now been vaccinated, but there’s the potential of close to 50 staff members (around 40%) who look to stay firm on their personal decision not to get the COVID vaccine.
In addition to employees, Harshbarger noted that direct contractors entering MMH will be required to show a COVID vaccination card as part of this state mandate.
In the emergency mandate, two sets of waivers can be approved for employees. Exemptions can be granted for medical and religious reasons on a case-by-case basis.
Harshbarger said they await interpretive guidelines from the state to determine eligiblity for a waiver. In general, they will seek legal advice with regard to handling requests for religious exemptions.
A statement from the hospital last week noted that MMH trusts the science behind the vaccine and knows that it is their best tool in combating the ongoing pandemic.
Harshbarger referenced advice from lawyers and the Colorado Hospital Association indicating that the state will hold administrators of hospitals accountable for whether they appropriately exempt people.
Targeting a Sept. 20 date for giving a baseline report on the number of vaccinated staff she anticipates having by the end of the month, Harshbarger said she’s asked staff to please try to work with her.
Without a vaccination or exemption that the hospital has signed off on by Sept. 30, the hospital’s only option under the mandate for these staff members is separation.
Harshbarger said that some will choose to be terminated while others will resign their positions.
If staff members have asked for a waiver or accommodation and it has not been finalized by Sept. 30, they will have five days of unpaid leave while the process is being completed. If the exemption is approved, the employee can return to work. Harshbarger said they may be able to return sooner, however the request process takes close to two weeks for review and an interactive discussion.
Harshbarger said she must present the hospital’s policies for waivers and exemptions to the state by Sept. 17. However, the state has 90 days to respond on whether they’re accepted. “So it gives me no leeway,” Harshbarger pointed out.
When the hospital fully implements the vaccine mandate, which they must do to stay certified, Harshbarger said they’ll be risking access to care due to the potential drop in staff.
“I’m caught between following the mandate of the state — making sure I’m doing it with integrity — and having compassion and caring for my employees, respecting their right to choose,” said Harshbarger.
She worries that this could end up being really bad, especially if the peak in COVID occurs, as it’s already started to do.
“I’m most frustrated by the polarization. Politics has gotten in the way of making us think we have reliable information,” said Harshbarger. “Public entities have to think about the whole public,” she added.
Harshbarger said she is trying to do more to get additional waivers, noting that this could really cripple health care in the rural market.
“If you have 50 of your best friends walk out the door, how would you handle it? I have to handle it. I don’t care what people think, but I have a heart and it’s pretty broken right now with this,” Harshbarger added.
Staff cite reasons for vaccine opposition
Multiple staff members have varying reasons for their concerns for the COVID vaccine and therefore the mandate that they get it or lose their job.
Staff members meet weekly as a support group for those who are having to make the decision. They are hosting a Health and Freedom Community Forum on Thursday, Sept. 16, at the Peerless from 6:30-8:30 p.m. for those interested in attending.
Pharmacist Amy Kleve said she spent a whole semester just reading studies in a class. “I know what to look for in good and bad studies,” she pointed out, noting that if they’re not statistically significant then treatment can’t be based on them.
She has sadly lost trust in the CDC website, which used to be her go-to for information. She trusts her own ability to research and is passionate about doing it.
Kleve is emphatic in noting that her research says the vaccine is very wrong for her. She has had COVID and is concerned that natural immunity is not included in any part of the thinking process.
Quick to say that the vaccine is good for some people (those over age 60 and others at higher risk), Kleve clarified that she doesn’t feel it is good for her.
Health Information Management manager Julie Kinner said, “I have been watching the COVID-19 pandemic unfold and asking many questions for the last 20 months. So many things do not add up.”
“I am choosing personal liberty over a false sense of security. The vaccines are neither safe nor effective. I would much rather take my chances with a 99.7% survival rate and support my immune system with vitamin C, D, zinc and quercetin,” Kinner said.
“When you go to school as long as we have to specialize in a specific area, and it’s something you’re passionate about and you love to do, and it’s potentially taken away from you, it’s nerve-racking. I’ve cried many times,” said Kleve.
“We’ve all cried ourselves to sleep,” added Megan Garrett, radiology technologist, as she addressed the anxiety, sleeplessness and panic attacks surrounding this mandate.
While Garrett and others don’t feel the community truly understands how many staff members will be leaving the hospital, Harshbarger has an obligation to follow the state and federal mandates.
Garrett, as well as Kinner, who shared her concerns at the Aug. 24 hospital board meeting, both noted concern for suppression of information.
Garrett also noted that she’s scared of the side effects. “My risk of having side effects from the vaccine is greater than my dying of COVID at my age,” said Garrett, who is 29.
She acknowledged that COVID is real — it’s scary and it’s awful. “I just don’t believe in the vaccination — yet,” she added, noting it was fast-tracked through the approval process.
She and Kinner both cited the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System website where anyone can report side effects from any vaccine. They wonder why that information isn’t publicized.
Harshbarger acknowledges how hard it is for staff to make this decision for their personal beliefs. But losing 40% of the staff will definitely impact business at MMH.