OR Manager November/December 2021 - 32

AMBULATORY
SURGERY CENTERS
Vaccine mandates
Continued from page 1
In the Midwest, eight Nebraska
health systems made a joint pledge to
mandate vaccination of its employees.
" Each of our organizations takes very
seriously the responsibility of providing
healthcare to people of all ages and all
backgrounds in our communities. Vaccination
against COVID-19 is an important
step to stop the pandemic and allow
our teams to work in the safest way
possible, " they stated.
Federal mandate rule is here
This is the reality facing any Medicareand
Medicaid-certified healthcare facility.
President Joe Biden's national
strategic plan to fight the virus calls for
an industry-wide vaccine requirement.
In September 2021, federal regulators
announced that an emergency vaccine
mandate in nursing homes would expand
to hospitals, dialysis facilities, ambulatory
surgery settings, home health
agencies, and others as a condition for
participating in Medicare and Medicaid.
The mandate applies to clinical
staff, third-party contractors, volunteers,
and staff not directly involved
in patient care. The final rule was
issued in November 2021 and calls on
eligible staff to be fully vaccinated by
January 4, 2022. Certain exemptions for
medical or religious reasons apply. The
rule was also stayed for private businesses
by a federal appeals court.
It is a necessary
step, explains Smita S.
Rouillard, MD, associate
executive medical director
of The Permanente
Medical Group, which
employs 9,000 physicians
as well as 35,000
nurses and staff, and
Smita S.
Rouillard, MD
delivers healthcare to more than 4.5 million
patients in Northern California. " We
know that vaccination is the most powerful
tool we have to stop this pandemic,
32
OR Manager | Nov/Dec 2021
Thinking ahead
Even before the Biden administration's
actions, states and many facilities were
putting the wheels in motion. A national
survey of 1,000 employers in late August
2021 found that more than half of US
companies were planning vaccine mandates.
As of October 2021, The American
Hospital Association reported that 2,549
hospitals and health systems were proceeding
with vaccination requirements.
And 13 states and cities are requiring
vaccinations for healthcare workers.
Many of these mandates
target specific
groups
of workers,
says Patrick T. Collins,
Esq, chair of the labor
and employment practice
group at Norris
McLaughlin, a law firm
that serves New Jersey,
to prevent more dangerous strains from
developing, and to restore the freedom
of safety and normalcy, " she says.
attorney filing waiver documents
for three religion
exemptions.
Becker's Hospital
Review updated its
vaccination-related employee
departures list
on November 8, citing,
among others, 440 staff
departures for lack of
vaccination at Advocate
Aurora Health, a 75,000
Beverly
Kirchner,
BSN, RN,
CNOR,
CNAMB
Patrick T.
Collins, Esq
New York, and Pennsylvania. The governor
of New Jersey, for example, issued
an executive order that requires
" all workers in certain state and private
healthcare facilities and highrisk
congregate settings ... to be fully
vaccinated against COVID-19 or be subject
to COVID-19 testing at minimum
one to two times per week, " says
Collins.
SurgeryDirect, LLC, an ambulatory services
center (ASC) development company
that manages several ASCs in
Colorado, worked to meet the state's
two-fold deadline of a first shot by September
30, 2021, and full vaccination
by October 30. " This impacts all employees,
contractors, vendors, and support
staff, including management company
and board members when visiting or onsite, "
says Beverly Kirchner, BSN, RN,
CNOR, CNAMB, compliance officer of
SurgeryDirect. As of October 2021, the
first round of vaccine reporting had taken
place at SurgeryDirect facilities, with its
employee health system with dual headquarters
in Illinois and Wisconsin.
Yet many health systems like The
Permanente Medical Group are reporting
high vaccination rates. " Response
to the mandate has been tremendous
across our system, " says Dr Rouillard.
The group was an early adopter of a
mandate this past summer. " Across our
national program, more than 92% of our
employees have been vaccinated, and
our physician vaccination rates have
reached 97%, " she adds.
Spanning 100 hospitals
and clinics and
14,000 employees,
The University of Kansas
Health System has
a 95% compliance rate
among its physicians.
Approximately 80% of
all staff have gotten
Sean Kumer,
MD, PhD
their shots, although the numbers keep
changing, says Sean Kumer, MD, PhD,
VP of perioperative and procedural
services. By the date of this article's
publication, the percentages might have
risen higher.
Offering options and exemptions
Health systems are trying to make the
process as easy as possible. " Our employees
can get the vaccine here or
locally. They just need a proof of vaccination
card they can bring back and
show us, " says Dr Kumer. Like many
other organizations, The University of
Kansas Health System has made vaccination
a condition of employment,
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