Earlier this week, Baxter Regional Medical Center (BRMC) officials announced they are complying with the COVID-19 vaccine mandate handed down by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The requirement says in order to meet the conditions of participation in CMS, which includes receiving reimbursement for Medicare and Medicaid patients, most healthcare providers, including hospitals, must have a vaccine mandate in place for their employees.
In part one of our story Thursday, BRMC President and CEO Ron Peterson discussed the reasons the hospital had to make the decision to comply with the mandate, mainly the fact nearly 85% of the hospital’s income would be lost.
Photo: BRMC President and CEO Ron Peterson
Peterson says the hospital had no choice but to comply with the mandate, if it wants to continue to serve patients in the area.
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As Peterson mentioned, three lawsuits have been filed in the United States over the CMS mandate.
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Even though the CMS mandate allows employees to refuse being vaccinated for religious or medical purposes, BRMC officials anticipate losing employees, but how many remains to be seen. This would add to the current worker shortage at the local medical facility. Currently, BRMC has about 7%, or between 115-118 positions that are not filled.
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Peterson says he feels the hospital has a lot to offer to its employees.
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He says the hospital has several incentive plans including sign-on bonuses for different positions.
Another question about the mandate, is what happens to the employees who refuse to be vaccinated and lose their jobs?
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Under the mandate, hospital employees have until Dec. 6 to have received their first dose of a two-shot series (Moderna or Pfizer, currently) or a single dose of a one-shot vaccine (Johnson and Johnson, currently) in order to continue providing care, treatment, or other services for the facility and/or its patients. By Jan. 4, all staff must complete the primary vaccination series.
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