Ohio’s Hospice and Related Organizations Require COVID-19 Vaccine for Staff
As an organization dedicated to our mission, we believe that we have an obligation and the responsibility to do everything possible to protect the patients and families we have the privilege of serving, as well our staff, our families, and our communities. Throughout the pandemic, we have made decisions based on the best available evidenced-based information. Science is about learning. As we learn more about this deadly virus, we have pivoted.
We have implemented a requirement that all staff complete one of the three vaccine courses by October 1, 2021. Our decision to require COVID-19 vaccinations is not about hindering personal freedoms or choice. It is about protecting the most frail and vulnerable patients and their families and protecting each other and our families. We see this decision as aligning with, and being true, to our values and mission. Staff members with medical or religious objections can apply for an exemption from this requirement.
As of August 3, 64% of eligible staff members have received at least one dose of the three COVID-19 vaccines.
Background
Since the onset of the pandemic, we have continued to implement and follow the best available, evidence-based requirements and guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the state of Ohio. We’ve done so to ensure that we can continue to provide care in the communities we serve as safely as possible.
Additionally, throughout the pandemic, we made a commitment to our staff that we would maintain 100% employment. While other healthcare organizations were facing this uncertainty by trimming staff levels, we held full employment for all staff.
As more was learned about the developing pandemic, our teams went to work to secure PPE for staff, again to ensure their safety as they delivered care and to protect patients, staff and their families.
Why Now?
New cases surging from the highly transmissible Delta variant across the United States, as hospitalizations and deaths related to COVID-19, are increasing predominately in those who are not vaccinated against COVID-19. It is our responsibility as a healthcare organization to provide confidence to our patients and their families that we are doing all we can to create a safe care environment that prevents the transmission of any communicable disease.
As an organization, measuring up to our mission and core value of compassion, Ohio’s Hospice and all related organizations will require administration and completion of one of the three approved COVID-19 vaccines for all our staff and active volunteers. Through vaccination, we can fulfill our mission and do everything possible to protect our patients and their families, our teammates, and our communities from this deadly virus, and a variant that is significantly more contagious.
As we have done throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we will continue to follow guidance from the CDC and the Ohio Department of Health (ODH), employing evidence-based decision making in all we do. We understand that not everyone on our staff is able to take a vaccine either due to medical or religious reasons. These exemption requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Committed to our Mission – Now and Always
As a statewide organization, our staff numbers more than 1,300 professionals ready to be of service as needed in the communities we have the privilege to serve. Today, more than 3,000 hospice and palliative care patients are receiving the care they need wherever they call home including, our Hospice Houses, inpatient care centers, assisted living facilities and homes. We are committed to continuing our mission of providing superior care and superior services for the patients and families who are counting on us.
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