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CHARLOTTE, NC – Atrium Health and Novant Health announced Thursday that they will require all employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine by this fall.
Last December, Atrium employees became the first in our region to roll up their sleeves and get vaccinated. The hospital system strongly encouraged but did not require employees to be vaccinated.
Now, with the drop in vaccinations and the upsurge in infections and hospitalizations, Atrium is reversing its own policy.
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Atrium said everyone must be fully immunized by October 31. The healthcare provider has 70,000 employees in 37 hospitals and more than 1,350 healthcare facilities.
“We consider it essential that each of our teammates receive their vaccine to protect themselves, their families and the people in their care,” an Atrium spokesperson told Eyewitness News.
It didn’t take long for Novant to follow suit. Channel 9 was in one of Novant’s care units several months ago as hospitalizations for COVID-19 were down, but with the numbers rising, this is also forcing employees to get vaccinated.
Novant said everyone will need to be fully immunized by September 15.
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WTVD reported that several other health care providers in the state, including UNC Health and Duke Health, have set deadlines for their employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Both providers said everyone should be fully vaccinated by September 12.
The North Carolina Healthcare Association made it clear on Thursday that it was part of a statewide campaign. He said he endorsed the mandate of healthcare workers in the following statement:
“North Carolina’s hospitals and healthcare systems exist to improve and protect the health of our communities, which is why they put the health and safety of patients, visitors and team members at the heart of care. that they dispense. In keeping with this goal, the North Carolina Healthcare Association strongly supports hospital and healthcare system policies that require all hospital employees and clinical team members to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The NCHA recognizes that every hospital and healthcare system is unique and encourages everyone to determine the appropriate time to implement a requirement. All hospitals should continue to require other infection control measures as directed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, such as the wearing of masks and other personal protective equipment.
Our state’s health systems and hospitals have seen firsthand how debilitating and deadly this disease can be. When the COVID-19 vaccines were first released, the NCHA and its members strongly encouraged all North Carolinians, including hospital and health system workers, to get vaccinated against COVID-19. In the months that followed, clinical data showed COVID-19 vaccines to be extraordinarily safe and effective, and our best tool in preventing the spread of disease.
The evidence is clear – vaccination against COVID-19 has prevented people from becoming seriously ill, requiring hospitalization or dying from the virus, as well as passing it on to others. To date, over 4.7 million North Carolinians and over 161 million Americans have been vaccinated with minimal side effects. Of most concern, however, is the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services which reports that nearly 99% of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in May and June were in people not fully vaccinated. Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported a sharp increase in new coronavirus cases as the delta variant becomes more prevalent.
Protecting patients, visitors and healthcare workers from COVID-19 continues to be of paramount importance. Vaccinating hospital and healthcare system workers against COVID-19 is essential to safely care for patients by protecting them from infection and to mitigate the spread of the virus in healthcare settings and among clinicians, patients and patients. their families and friends. “
Novant Health statement on mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for employees:
“Since the COVID-19 vaccine first arrived at Novant Health, we have worked diligently to overcome vaccine hesitancy among our team members. These efforts include holding weekly forums to address individual concerns and common misconceptions, make the vaccine practical and accessible, and provide ongoing updates on the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine.
We appreciate and thank the tens of thousands of team members who eagerly received the vaccine. Sadly, the reality is that vaccination rates remain stagnant across the country, including at Novant Health.
We agree with the North Carolina Healthcare Association, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and many other health systems in the region that a mandatory vaccination program is in the best public health interest. Simply put, keeping our patients, team members and communities safe is essential. Therefore, we demand that all members of the Novant Health team be fully immunized by September 15, 2021.
While our hope is that each team member accepts the vaccine on their own, a mandatory vaccination schedule will ensure that patients and visitors to Novant Health, as well as our team members, enjoy better protection. against COVID-19, regardless of where they are in our healthcare system. This disease is preventable with a safe and effective vaccine, and we are committed to doing all we can to end this pandemic. “
Atrium Health statement on vaccine policy change:
“Since the onset of the pandemic, Atrium Health has earned the trust of our patients and the communities we are privileged to serve in our COVID-Safe practices, designed to maximize patient safety and limit their potential exposure to the virus. The new Delta variant being much more potent than the original virus, we consider it essential that each of our teammates receive their vaccine to protect themselves, their family and those in their care.
These new variants are contributing to a 200% increase in hospitalizations – and, among our patients, 99% of people hospitalized in recent weeks are unvaccinated people. This further illustrates the effectiveness of the vaccine.
We have started communicating to all of our teammates (including teleworkers, physicians, resident physicians, faculty, fellows, interns, contractors, visiting students / students, medical staff, temporary workers, and volunteer staff) that they must be fully immunized or have an approved medical or religious exemption. By making the vaccine mandatory for our teammates, Atrium Health, including Wake Forest Baptist Health and Atrium Health Navicent, along with several other health systems in the region, are taking reasonable steps to ensure our teammates – many of whom stay on. The front lines, interacting directly with people with COVID – are protected and available to care for community members as we face the next phases of the pandemic.
We view this vaccine in the same way as our requirement for our teammates to be vaccinated against the flu every year, as well as to be vaccinated against measles, chickenpox and other infectious diseases. The COVID-19 vaccine is essential to protect the health of our teammates and the communities we serve. We believe it is essential to maintain the safest possible care environment for our patients and it is an essential part of our ability to remain COVID-Safe in the face of new variants affecting our region.
As for your question about the mask, although many people in the communities we serve have chosen to forgo masks in their daily lives, we continue to stress the importance of wearing them inside our facilities and to require them in all common areas in order to better protect our teammates, patients and visitors.
(Watch below: Novant, Atrium medics say masks for kids returning to school make sense)
© 2021 Cox Media Group
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