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About 99% of employees in the Henry Ford health care system have been vaccinated against COVID-19 or have been approved for medical / religious exemption, the company announced on Tuesday (October 5).
Bob Riney, president of health operations for the hospital system, said more than 30,000 employees have been vaccinated and continue to work for the health system. Another 1,900 – or about 6% of the workforce – have been approved for exemptions and will continue their employment, while about 400 have “voluntarily resigned” in the face of the mandate.
Employees who chose not to be vaccinated and quit would be asked to re-apply for a job with the health care system if they were to be vaccinated against COVID-19, Riney said. He said 30 people had already “changed their minds”.
“We are losing a small segment of the workforce,” Riney said. “We wish it was zero, but it’s a very small percentage.”
The health system said all exemption requests were reviewed by an “objective and multidisciplinary” group. The majority of the 1,900 approved exemptions were for religious reasons, the remainder due to medical circumstances.
Related: Michigan Hospitals Assess Vaccination Mandates Against Staff Shortages As COVID Cases Rise
Riney said about 250 requests for religious exemptions to get vaccinated have been turned down. Fewer than five medical exemptions were denied.
Of those who resigned, Riney said they did not represent an individual group but rather were broad “at all levels” when it came to their specific job responsibilities. He did not provide a breakdown, but said “many were casual workers.”
Like other hospital systems across the country, Henry Ford faces staff shortages as frontline health workers continue their 19-month fight against the coronavirus. To combat departures, Henry Ford is holding nursing career fairs on October 7 and 12 at all of its locations, as well as recruiting healthcare workers locally and internationally.
Henry Ford was the first health care system in the state to announce a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for its employees. By mid-September, eight of the state’s major hospital systems had adopted some type of vaccination mandate, while four systems were only strongly encouraging their employees to get vaccinated.
As of Friday, Oct. 1, about 62.5% of Michigan residents aged 12 and over had received a first dose of the vaccine and about 58% were fully immunized. According to the American Medical Association and representatives from local hospitals, most hospital systems have reported employee vaccination rates between 65 and 75%, although these rates climb to 90 when they refer specifically to physicians. .
To find a vaccine near you, visit the Michigan COVID-19 vaccine website or go to VaccineFinder.org.
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