New York's healthcare COVID-19 vaccination mandate went into full effect Sept. 27, and now health system CEOs are preparing for the requirement deadline in another one of the nation's most populous states: California.
California issued an order Aug. 5 requiring workers in healthcare to be vaccinated. The order applies to those who work in indoor healthcare settings, including hospitals, where care is provided to patients, or patients have access. Workers who do not qualify for a medical or religious exemption need to receive their first dose of a one-dose regimen or their second dose of a two-dose regimen by Sept. 30. Unvaccinated exempt workers must meet testing and safety requirements.
To coincide with the state mandate, Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente has mandated vaccination for its more than 216,000 employees and more than 23,000 physicians by Sept. 30.
"After a year-and-a-half of this virus controlling and taking away lives and threatening the health of millions, healthcare workers around the nation are exhausted," Kaiser Chair and CEO Greg Adams said in a statement shared with Becker's Sept. 28. "We're in the fourth surge of the virus, and we have to find ways to address the unsustainable demands on our healthcare workforce. We know that vaccination is the most powerful tool we have to stop this pandemic, to prevent more dangerous strains from developing, and to restore the freedom of safety and normalcy."
Since Kaiser announced the mandate Aug. 2, the health system saw employee vaccination rates climb from 78 percent to nearly 90 percent as of Sept. 15, according to Mr. Adams. Kaiser's physician vaccination rate has reached at least 97 percent.
"We want to thank our staff who have moved quickly to get vaccinated and submit verification. We understand that for some this may be a difficult decision in an already difficult time. We are doing all we can to support that decision making process with information and discussion. Importantly, our vaccination mandate is motivating members of our workforce to get educated, to get vaccinated, and do their part to help end this pandemic," Mr. Adams said.
Kaiser said it has also extended its vaccination requirement to the tens of thousands of employees who work for Kaiser contractors, vendors and suppliers and is encouraging community organizations to adopt their own mandates.
San Diego-based Scripps Health is preparing for the state mandate, too.
Chris Van Gorder, president and CEO of the system, told Becker's Scripps notified employees of the California mandate as soon as the state issued it.
"We did this to give all of our employees the time to ask questions and to get their vaccinations or apply for an exemption. We have kept them informed of the policy and our process for exemptions and have been tracking compliance regularly ever since," Mr. Van Gorder said.
He said Scripps medical staffs and all medical executive committees at the system hospitals also support mandatory vaccinations for Scripps employees and Scripps affiliated physicians, as do medical groups affiliated with Scripps.
As of Sept. 28, 15,329 out of 16,510 Scripps employees were vaccinated — a vaccination rate of 92.85 percent. More than 140 Scripps employees were in the process of being vaccinated, 555 employees were granted medical, religious or pregnancy exemptions, and 140 were unvaccinated.
Mr. Van Gorder said employees who do not become vaccinated by the state mandate deadline and have not received an exemption will be terminated through their voluntary resignation.
Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health announced its vaccine policy Aug. 4 before the state's mandate became official. Under the system's policy, employees must be fully vaccinated or receive an approved exemption by Sept. 30.
The policy — which extends beyond the state order to support the safety of clinical and nonclinical workers — had a 97 percent compliance rate at of Sept. 28, according to William Isenberg, MD, PhD, chief quality and safety officer for Sutter.
To date, more than 91 percent of Sutter employees and 96 percent of the system's affiliated providers were vaccinated, representing more than 54,000 healthcare professionals.
"We're deeply appreciative of the steps our workforce has taken to comply with these important measures that are vital to protecting our patients, their colleagues and our communities and stopping the spread of COVID-19," said Dr. Isenberg.
Read more about the state mandate here.