New York prepares to deploy National Guard to plug health care worker shortages as vaccine mandate begins

“Today is a significant deadline. It reflects my priority to stop this virus dead, “said Hochul on Monday. It is a “basic right” for people to know that they are safe when entering a health facility, added the governor.

Last month, the New York State Department of Health issued an order that all health care workers in the state must be vaccinated against Covid-19 by September 27. States have long required hospital workers to be vaccinated against other diseases to better protect staff and patients from outbreaks. The vast majority of healthcare workers have been vaccinated against Covid-19, but the requirement could still result in significant numbers of workers becoming incapacitated – bottlenecks that, ironically, could lead to poorer medical care for those with the disease. New York faces a similar potential labor shortage due to its vaccine mandates in schools and courts.

Hochul said that while she would prefer to have all of the state’s health workers vaccinated by the end of the day, she is willing to use emergency powers to deploy medically trained National Guards and put qualified, retired health workers back into service, even if your medical license has expired.

The governor also said her office will set up an operations center that will be in contact with health facilities across the state Monday night and Tuesday to determine where the state’s resources are, where staff shortages are occurring, and how to properly staff them.

It is possible that some health care workers may be asked to serve in different parts of the state where vaccination rates are lower, Hochul said.

“It won’t be a perfect situation, but it can be avoided here as well,” said Hochul.

Hochul urged the remaining unvaccinated health care workers to “please do the right thing” and called the vaccination “simple common sense.”

“I’m tired of talking about Covid. I want to talk about the rebirth of communities,” said Hochul. “We fought so long and hard. … An end is in sight.”

Where New York’s hospitals are

In New York City’s 11 public hospitals, about 5,000 of the 43,000 employees, or about 12%, were not vaccinated as of Monday morning, said Dr. Mitch Katz, CEO of Health + Hospitals, on Monday.

“Over 95% of my nurses are vaccinated today … almost 98-99% of my doctors have agreed (and have been vaccinated) and all of our facilities are open and fully functional,” Katz said when asked if he was aware of any staffing bottlenecks . “I haven’t heard any negative reports from the private hospital system.”

Unvaccinated workers in the 11 public hospitals will be put on unpaid leave but can return after vaccination, according to NYC Health + Hospitals spokeswoman Stephanie M. Guzmán.

Any state health care worker who does not receive at least one dose of vaccine by the end of the day on Monday will be “immediately suspended,” according to the New York State Department of Health, subject to approved exceptions.

The vaccination coverage of health workers varies by region and type of health center. 84% of hospital workers, 81% of all adult care facilities and 77% of all nursing home staff in the state were fully vaccinated last Wednesday, according to the governor’s office.

“I expect that in some places where more health workers need to be vaccinated, some operational adjustments may need to be made, especially to ensure that staffing is the most important and that the intensive care unit or operating rooms are adequately staffed,” said New York Health Commissioner Dr, said Dave Chokshi. “But I believe hospitals will be ready to go through this without major impact on patient care.”

The vast majority of staff at the Mount Sinai and New York-Presbyterian hospitals in New York City have met the state’s vaccine mandate, according to spokesmen for both health facilities.

Mount Sinai expects less than 1% of its staff to be laid off for failing to meet its vaccine mandate, a spokesman said.

Meanwhile, New York Presbyterians set their own vaccination deadline last week, the hospital said in a statement. More than 99% of the hospital’s 48,000 employees are fully vaccinated, said spokeswoman Suzanne Halpin, adding that fewer than 250 employees have chosen not to adhere to the mandate.

“We will continue to provide exceptional, uninterrupted care in all of our hospitals,” she said.

But that’s not the case at the Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) in Buffalo, which expects 10% of its employees – about 400 workers – not to be vaccinated by Monday, spokesman Peter Cutler said in a statement. About 85% of all employees have already been vaccinated, he said.

The ECMC has suspended elective inpatient operations and temporarily stopped accepting intensive care transports from other health facilities before the deadline for the vaccination mandate expires on Monday, the medical center said in a statement. The ECMC has also shortened the opening times in outpatient departments as well as the units in one of its long-term care facilities.

CNN’s Aya Elamroussi contributed to this report.

source https://www.bisayanews.com/2021/09/28/new-york-prepares-to-deploy-national-guard-to-plug-health-care-worker-shortages-as-vaccine-mandate-begins/