WA- Monday was the last day healthcare workers had to show proof of covid-19 vaccination. Local hospitals said most of their employees have complied with the mandate by showing proof of their vaccination or getting an exemption.
At places like Kadlec and Yakima Valley Memorial (YVM) employees that did not follow the state mandate have been suspended until they comply.
As of today, 95% of employees within the YVM organization have been vaccinated or have an exemption. Employees that were granted an exemption will have to go through weekly covid testing.
The Chief Medical Officer at YVM Dr. Marty Brueggemann said while a good chunk of employees followed the mandate, there may be other reasons people haven’t complied.
“Hospital staff are no different than other places in the community and people do procrastinate until last minute,” Dr. Brueggemann said. “Some people actually just miss the deadline and then when they get notified they’re going to be off the schedule then they turn around and they’re like oh yeah I’ve got the card right here I just forgot to tell you.”
He added that some employees are on leave and don’t have to be compliant until they return to work, but if they’re not vaccinated, their status still counts against the number of people vaccinated in the organization. He says the number of fully vaccinated people could still increase in the coming days.
Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic said only 35 of their 2096 employees left because of the mandate but they were unable to say whether these people quit or were fired.
In Tri-cities 95.7% of employees at Kadlec are vaccinated or have an exemption.
In a statement kadlec said, “We are grateful that the vast majority of our caregivers have received their vaccinations — an essential step toward keeping our caregivers and patients safe…we are working with each individual to help them come into compliance with the mandate.”
All three organizations said the employees that did not meet the mandate are scattered throughout different positions and losing them won’t affect their operations.
