IMPORTANT VACCINE REQUIREMENT UPDATE!
In making decisions at the GSCC, we evaluate three primary things…
1. Is this decision what is best for the patient?
2. Is this decision what is best for the GSCC?
3. Is this decision what is best for the entire team?
No matter your role and responsibilities here, these three questions…when all asked…will lead us all to the best decision for all involved. The Leadership Team kept these in mind as we navigated through the decisions with regard to the COVID-19 mandate and the vaccine.
Through the process of evaluating exemption and accommodation requests to ensure that the GSCC could comply with the mandate for the unvaccinated (prior to the temporary injunction), the Leadership Team also used a series of questions as the basis to ensure that we could consistently and adequately accommodate the exemption requests and still protect health and safety of the patients (especially the medically vulnerable and immunocompromised) and the team members and the organization from potential fines for noncompliance with the mandate without undue financial or operational burden.
Working through the questions helped us to evaluate further than the idea that our team members should have a choice in receiving the vaccine (and they/you do have a choice). We looked at how can we continue to allow them to have a choice and still protect our patients, the viability of the GSCC, the individual team member requesting accommodation and the other team members and is there an appropriate accommodation that can ensure that we have done everything to protect the patient, team members and the GSCC effectively and safely to the best of our ability.
While we truly respect our team members freedom to decline the vaccine, we determined that due to the nature of our work as a health center caring for patients (especially the medically vulnerable and immunocompromised), the increased exposure risk because sick people come to see us all day…every day, the transmission rate of the COVID-19 virus, the close proximity to patients and team members due to our current facilities, we feel it is in the best interest of the patients we serve, the other team members, and the GSCC to push forward with requiring all GSCC team members to be fully vaccinated from the COVID-19 virus by March 4, 2022…with the first dose Pfizer or Moderna or the single dose Johnson and Johnson by February 11, 2022.
Reasons for postponing the vaccine requirement for the patients, entire team and the GSCC:
1. To best ensure that we are doing our very best to protect the health and safety of our patients, team members and the GSCC.
2. Vaccine requirements are not new to us, as a healthcare agency ie. Hepatitis B, MMR (measles, mumps and rubella), Varicella, Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis). We also recommend an annual flu vaccine for team members.
3. The CDC recommends COVID-19 vaccinations to everyone ages 5 and older and further states that the vaccines are effective at helping protect against severe disease from the virus.
4. Because the injunction is only temporary, we do not know the length of time this will stay in the courts. Should it be overturned, the requirement for notification appears to be only 30 days before mandated compliance would take effect. This would once again cause the team members and the GSCC to have to make quick decisions to mitigate real or potential staffing losses, gaps in patient care and other position and workflow gaps. This yo-yo of back and forth, mandate no mandate, creates a fearful work environment and unnecessary stress on the team that could ultimately transfer to patient care and hinder operations of the health center.
5. The requirement to continue to pay team members who are out with COVID-19 could also pose a financial hardship on the GSCC since 29% of the team members are unvaccinated; many of whom are in direct patient care.
6. The potential for unvaccinated team members to be out for longer periods than vaccinated team members (as studies are showing) would not only create additional financial burden in paying them, but it could also hinder patient care and access and poor operational and financial performance of the health center.
7. The continual back and forth and not deciding to move forward would keep the leadership and department leaders in limbo with regard to future planning, staffing needs, team training and development, patient care services, workflow responsibilities, facility needs…the list could go on. All of which would affect the patients, team members and the GSCC.
8. Allows for additional time for planning staff vacancies to not hinder patient care, team workflow pressures and consistent operational and financial performance of the health center.
Reasons for postponing the vaccine requirement specifically for those who choose not to get it:
1. The postponement would allow additional time for team members to further educate themselves with respect to the vaccine, if they choose and not feel rushed to make the decision that is best for them.
2. It would also allow the team to work through the holidays and into the early spring, allowing them adequate time to find a new job or create some financial contingencies to help them should they choose not to receive the vaccine.
3. So that we can continue to live out our Core Values…LOVE, RESPECT, FIGHT, RESILIENCE, FLEXIBILITY…even when decisions are difficult.
The updated COVID-19 Vaccination Policy can be found under the TEAM RESOURCES page.