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At OHSU, the health and safety of our patients, employees and learners is our first priority. As a state university of health and science, OHSU supports and adheres to scientific evidence confirming the safety and efficacy of the three COVID-19 vaccines currently available in the United States.
OHSU strongly encourages vaccination for all who are eligible and strongly believes that getting vaccinated is one of the best things anyone can do to protect themselves, our patients, loved ones, neighbors, friends and the community at large. against serious illness or death.
To help ensure that our hospitals and clinics remain as safe as possible over the long term, the OHSU requires that all members – facility staff, learners and volunteers – be fully immunized against COVID-19 or receive a medical exception or religious approved by October 18. , 2021. Members who fail to comply with OHSU policy and Oregon State law will be placed on leave and may be terminated.
OHSU recognizes that getting vaccinated is a personal choice and that the decision to do so can be difficult for many of our members. This is also a difficult situation for our university as we greatly appreciate the expertise and dedication of all of the more than 22,000 employees, learners and volunteers who are our members.
We want to help everyone make choices that will allow them to stay at OHSU while protecting the many communities we serve. These efforts include accessing language support and conducting conversations in a culturally competent manner, knowing that our members come from diverse backgrounds and beliefs. The OHSU has also engaged in ongoing collaborations with organized resource groups for employees, learners and workers, including the Oregon Nurses Association which entered into a memorandum of understanding with OHSU in September.
In keeping with OHSU’s commitment to ensuring the health and safety of all who have entrusted us with their care, we prioritize – to the extent possible – the placement of unvaccinated OHSU members who benefit from ‘immunization exceptions in roles that do not involve direct, in-person contact with the patient. If neither of these roles is available, these members may be placed on leave without pay while the review process for exception requests is underway.
As of the September 20 deadline, 48 medical and 465 religious requests for exceptions to the COVID-19 vaccination have been submitted by members of the OHSU. A committee, made up of representatives of the OHSU’s departments of affirmative action and equal opportunities, student access, human resources, occupational health, health and well-being of Students, Law and the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, examines each application in detail according to a narrow set of criteria. criteria – in accordance with the law – for each employee, learner or volunteer. Each review involves two independent assessments by members of that committee to determine whether an application meets the very specific legal requirements of any religious or medical exception. Based on these criteria, the OHSU anticipates that few religious exception requests will be approved.
Vaccines are the key to protecting ourselves and those dear to us from infection with COVID-19 and to ending this devastating pandemic. We hope that everyone who can get vaccinated will be.
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