With COVID-19 vaccine mandates now in effect at the three largest health care employers in Anchorage, the vast majority of staffers are vaccinated and only a small percentage of the workforce was let go for noncompliance.
At Southcentral Foundation, more than 96% of the 2,400 employees were fully vaccinated by late last week, according to CEO April Kyle. Another 1% of employees complied with the policy by getting an exemption. Southcentral operates clinics that serve Alaska Native beneficiaries and it co-manages the Alaska Native Medical Center.
The other partner in managing the hospital, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, reports that more than 98% of its 3,000 workers have complied, most by vaccination. About 40 workers got an exemption, an ANTHC spokesperson said.
Providence Alaska Medical Center also reports more than 98% compliance. Providence did not say how many exemptions it granted, but the deadline for applying was Monday.
When the mandates were announced this summer, anti-vaccine activists and some health care workers protested. Mayor Dave Bronson, among others, predicted workers would leave in droves, worsening the hospital crisis. Some workers have been fired for refusing the vaccine, but the predictions of mass terminations have not materialized.
Nationwide, some 40% of hospitals now require their employees to be vaccinated, according to the American Hospital Association.
“In order to protect their patients, we think it’s critically important for health care workers to take that step of getting a vaccine,” said Nancy Foster, the association’s vice president for patient safety.
The mandate has cost some hospital employees their jobs, but Foster said that loss of service is, to some degree, offset by the resilience of a more vaccinated workforce.
“When you get the vaccine and you are protected, you are less likely to have to take time off from work, either because you become ill, or you’ve been exposed,” she said.
A federal mandate for virtually all hospital and nursing home workers is coming. The rules are expected to be published by the end of the month. The effective date of the national mandate hasn’t been announced yet.
