Northwest Arkansas health care employees face vaccination deadlines

Employees at four Northwest Arkansas health care systems faced deadlines to get their covid-19 vaccines this week.

Meanwhile, the number of covid-19 hospitalizations in the region continued to decline and the number of vaccinated people over the age of 12 increased.

Mercy Health System and Medical Associates of Northwest Arkansas gave their employees until Thursday to get fully or partially vaccinated. The deadline for Washington Regional employees was Friday.

All of the health care systems with vaccine requirements said the number of employees who did not meet the deadline is low but said exact numbers or percentages are not available.

Arkansas Children's Hospital, including the Northwest campus, required hospital leadership to be fully vaccinated by Friday. New hires have been required to be vaccinated since Aug. 16.

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Northwest Health and Baptist Health do not have covid-19 vaccine requirements for employees but will soon face federal vaccine mandates.

[CORONAVIRUS: Click here for our complete coverage » arkansasonline.com/coronavirus]

[EMAIL SIGNUP: Form not appearing above? Click here to subscribe to updates on the coronavirus » arkansasonline.com/coronavirus/email/]

President Joe Biden announced Sept. 9 that covid-19 vaccinations would be required for all staff within Medicare and Medicaid-certified facilities, including hospitals, dialysis facilities, ambulatory surgical settings and home health settings, according to the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services website. Nursing home workers were already required to get the vaccine.

MOST EMPLOYEES VACCINATED

Spokeswoman Mardi Taylor said most Mercy employees in Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley have been vaccinated, although exact numbers are not available. The number of employees who refused to get vaccinated by the deadline is also unavailable, she said.

"We expect the termination rate to be low," she said.

Mercy has 40,000 employees in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas, including about 5,700 employees in Rogers, Fort Smith and Berryville, Taylor said in July. At the time, about 75% of employees were fully vaccinated, she said.

The full impact of the vaccine requirement on staffing won't be apparent for nearly a month, Taylor said. Anyone who wasn't compliant with the policy by Thursday was placed on a 28-day unpaid suspension, she said.

They were preparing to cover the shifts of those who might be suspended starting Oct. 1, she said.

Requests for medical and religious exemptions were given careful consideration and a handful were approved, Taylor said. Exempted co-workers must be tested weekly and wear N95 masks in clinical areas, she said.

Washington Regional required each of its team members to receive at least one dose of a covid-19 vaccine by Friday and be scheduled for a second dose if they are taking a multi-dose regimen, said spokeswoman Natalie Hardin.

At the end of Thursday, approximately 99% of the health care system's 3,313 employees either had been vaccinated or received an exemption, she said.

About 6% of Washington Regional's workforce applied for an exemption, Hardin said, and most exemptions were approved.

Every health system in the country is experiencing staffing challenges, Hardin said. Since the federal requirements for health care facilities were announced, it will become increasingly difficult for anyone to work in any health care facility if they are not vaccinated for covid-19, she said.

Medical Associates of Northwest Arkansas announced in July that all staff members must be fully vaccinated by Sept. 30, CEO Jason Wilson said in a prepared statement. The health care system is an independent, physician-owned group with more than 730 employees at 22 clinics in Benton, Washington and Boone counties.

The human resources department and leadership team worked to collect proof of vaccination and counsel employees, Wilson said. Dr. Allen Moseley and Dr. Ann-Marie Magre also hosted a live vaccine question-and-answer session for staff members.

The system of clinics met their goal Thursday but lost a few employees who chose not to get vaccinated, Wilson said.

"Our amazing team has worked together to fill in and cover those losses," he said.

Children's Hospital's seven entities across the state, including the Northwest campus in Springdale, have a staff vaccination rate of 84.8%, said spokeswoman Hilary DeMillo. Since the hospital announced in July that leadership team members would have to be fully vaccinated by Sept. 30 and new hires would have to be vaccinated after Aug. 16, 10 medical and religious vaccination exemptions have been granted and no staff members have been terminated, she said.

Northwest Health will work to comply with Biden's order requiring covid-19 vaccination and will look to receive further guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services about its implementation, according to a statement from Abby Davenport, vice president of marketing and communications.

While the hospital system doesn't have a vaccination requirement, it has implemented regular covid-19 testing for unvaccinated employees and follows the recommended safety protocols such as wearing masks and social distancing, she said.

Approximately 81% of Baptist Health's 11,000 employees are vaccinated for covid-19, according to a statement from spokeswoman Alicia Agent.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is expected to release an interim final rule for health care facility vaccine requirements and deadlines. When it does, Baptist Health will communicate any ongoing or required vaccination policies, she said.

UAMS does not require covid-19 vaccination, but about 80% of employees are vaccinated, said spokesman David Wise.

TAKING A STAND

Chelcey Lundquist, a pharmacy technician for Mercy Hospital in Rogers, said she was placed on unpaid suspension Thursday and will be terminated Oct. 28 because of her decision not to get vaccinated. Lundquist said she has heard hundreds of her co-workers are in the same position.

When the vaccine became available to health care workers last December, Lundquist wanted to see more studies on long-term side effects before getting the shot. She also wanted more communication and compromise from hospital leadership.

Lundquist said her view shifted dramatically when the vaccine was mandated.

"I don't think it's my employer's place to tell me what I can and cannot unremovably put into my body," she said. "What if two years down the road it's found to be detrimental to the health of the recipient?"

Lundquist has helped lead several protests. She also helped organize a prayer vigil Thursday at Mercy in Rogers. She said she wanted to raise awareness and give her like-minded co-workers support, camaraderie, friendship and prayer.

For now, Lundquist plans to spend more time with her family, but she hopes to find a job outside of health care since new federal requirements will make it difficult to get a job in the field without being vaccinated for covid-19.

Lundquist said that patient safety has been her and her co-workers' top concern from the beginning and they have given patients support throughout the pandemic. Now they are asking for patients' support in return, she said.

"Those co-workers I have spoken to believe we are doing the right thing for us," she said. "We are doing what is best for us, not trying to be difficult."