Northwell Health said about two dozen leaders at the management level, or above, were not allowed to continue their roles at the New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based system because they chose not to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
"We communicated with [a few hundred unvaccinated leaders] early last week to tell them if they did not get the shot by [Sept. 24], they would not be allowed to continue their role with Northwell," spokesperson Joe Kemp told Becker's. "It was an extension of our own mandate that we began enforcing last month. About two dozen still chose to not get the shot by the deadline."
The departures come as Northwell has been preparing for New York state's mandate that requires healthcare workers get at least one shot by Sept. 27.
Northwell, the largest healthcare provider in New York state, said it is committed to vaccinating its entire 76,000-person workforce, including clinical and nonclinical workers.
"We are now beginning the process to exit the rest of our unvaccinated staff. Northwell wants to reassure the public that during this time there will be no impact to the quality of patient care at any of our facilities. We are proud that our workforce is already nearly 100 percent vaccinated," the system said in a statement Sept. 27.
The system said partially vaccinated employees must undergo routine COVID-19 testing until they complete their shot series, according to Newsday.