Hundreds of people quit their jobs in the Detroit hospital system due to a vaccination warrant

About 400 workers at a health care system in Detroit have resigned their jobs instead of getting the COVID-19 vaccine, officials from the Henry Ford Health System (HFHS) said on Tuesday.

HFHS, Detroit’s fifth largest employer with around 33,000 employees, announced in June that it would require all employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The requirement covered full-time staff members, as well as volunteers, students and contractors, the health system said at the time.

Dr Adnan Munkarah, Executive Vice President and Clinical Director of HFHS, said that requiring employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 was “in the best interests of our patients and members, our team members and of the communities we serve ”.

In mid-September, the HFHS said about 98% of its employees were in compliance with vaccine requirements. The remaining 2% have been suspended and have until October 1 to get vaccinated.

Bob Riney, president of healthcare operations and chief operating officer of HFHS, told a press conference on Tuesday that he was “delighted and extremely proud” to report that more than 99% of HFHS employees had been vaccinated. About 1,900 additional employees, or about 6% of the HFHS workforce, have received approval for medical or religious exemptions from tenure, he said. HFHS has rejected around 250 requests for religious exemptions, according to Munkarah.

Meanwhile, an additional 1% of the HFHS workforce was not in compliance with the vaccines mandate on Tuesday, Riney told reporters.

“About 400 people have voluntarily resigned their jobs at Henry Ford due to the need for a vaccine in the past two months,” he said.

People who leave the HFHS because of the vaccination mandate are classified as voluntary quits, Riney said. In the event that these people decide to get vaccinated against the virus, they will be able to request a return to work with HFHS, he added.

“If they change their mind and get vaccinated, they can apply again for jobs with Henry Ford,” Riney said. “We do everything we can to keep the doors open and welcoming for these team members.”

About 30 employees initially not conforming to the HFHS vaccination mandate have already had this “change of mind” and were looking to re-engage with the health system, Riney said.

As HFHS announced its mandate to vaccinate employees, it reported that there were around 20 patients battling COVID-19 at its facilities. Around the same time last year, 65 patients were hospitalized at HFHS facilities with the virus, according to Munkarah. As of Tuesday, 144 patients were battling the virus at HFHS facilities.