The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
BRACING FOR IMPACT
Oneida Health CEO releases letter on healthcare vaccine mandate
Oneida, N.Y. — Facing statewide COVID-19 vaccination mandates for healthcare workers, Oneida Health is bracing for impact, which may include longer wait times and more transfers to other healthcare facilities.
“We now face a new challenge that could very well result in a healthcare crisis for our community and region,” said Oneida Health President and CEO Gene Morreale in a community letter released to the Dispatch recently.
He reported that 88% of his staff are vaccinated. The remainder will no longer be allowed to work after Sept. 27 under the state guidelines, unless they decide to roll up their sleeves.
A spokesperson for Oneida Health told the Dispatch on Wednesday that medical and temporary religious exemptions for being unvaccinated were honored and that not many of the unvaccinated staff ended up being suspended from working due to the mandate. The exact number of those suspended is not yet known to the Dispatch. Suspended individuals have 30 days to get vaccinated or be fired.
The mandate comes at a crucial time in the pandemic when booster shots are beginning to be distributed to certain parts of the population to battle the ever-raging delta variant. Experts and officials say that the vaccine is the key to keeping the virus under control and wading out of this pandemic. The vaccine significantly reduces the risk of death and hospitalization due to illness caused by COVID-19, according to local and federal data.
“The current healthcare environment in Upstate New York is a very challenging one,” Morreale continued in his letter. Healthcare demand has been “significantly” impacted due to rising COVID-19 cases, and there’s a compounding shortage of qualified staff throughout Upstate NY and in other states around the country, he said.
Oneida Health currently has an overall average employee vacancy rate above 10%, and in some positions, the percentage is above that, Morreale said. “We have done and will continue to do what we can to attract and retain staff,” he assured.
That usually means offering higher pay, which he said Oneida Health is pursuing, but it’s going to be difficult. “Unlike most businesses, we in healthcare cannot increase what we bill (and are actually paid for) to offset the increase in operating expenses as the majority of our payment rates are set by the government.”
The CEO voiced his pride in the quality of care at Oneida Health and its positive reputation for high patient outcomes and patient satisfaction. He fears that the vaccine mandate will put that, and a lot more, in jeopardy.
“The new COVID vaccine mandate for healthcare providers and staff may, in the end, result in reducing capacity for care,” he admitted in the letter. This includes emergency, inpatient, outpatient diagnostics, and access to long-term care.
“At this point in time, the Syracuse and Utica hospitals have reached capacity limits which have resulted in our transferring patients who require
“We now face a new challenge that could very well result in a healthcare crisis for our community and region.” — Oneida Health President and CEO Gene Morreale in a community letter
specialized care to Albany, Binghamton, Rochester, and Buffalo,” he stated, adding that these hospitals and others are all facing the same problems, too.
Longer wait times to be evaluated as well as delays in testing availability will be more common as the healthcare industry experiences an influx in its staffing levels across the area, he said.
Additionally, ambulance services are experiencing a similar staffing shortage, he said. And each lengthy transfer puts a strain on an ambulance’s ability to respond to emergency calls.
In his letter, Morreale took a stance on the mandate, stating that he supports receiving the vaccine but respects the right for individuals to choose whether or not they get it themselves. He says that the staff working for Oneida Health who are unvaccinated are “needed for Oneida Health to continue to provide care in the manner has been accustomed to.”
He continued, “If those staff are not permitted to work, together with our current vacancy rate, even though we will do all that is humanly possible to continue to meet your healthcare needs locally, there will be an impact on our ability to provide care as we are able to today.”
The CEO asked for the community to share their gratitude to health providers and staff at this time. “They have been battling a terrible pandemic for 18 months with no end in sight.”