By Brian Brant
(FORT SMITH, Ark.) All employees at a major central U.S. health care system will be required to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by September, according to 4029tv.
The announcement by Mercy Health System comes as a majority of their recent patients being treated for COVID-19 "have not been vaccinated."
With dozens of dozens of acute care, specialty hospitals, 700 physician and outpatient clinics in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas, 25% of its 44,000 employees are not vaccinated.
However, the system now seeks to force its workers to get immunized.
“As health care leaders in our communities, it is important we set the standard to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Vaccination is our best defense against the virus and already has provided many of our co-workers with the protection they need to care for our patients," according to the news release.
Brent Hubbard, president for Mercy Springfield, said they are mandating the vaccines because they are safe and effective.
He also said employees who do not get vaccinated could be suspended, but they are hoping to avoid this disciplinary action.
“So, we have a short window to act, we have an obligation as a healthcare system to protect the health of our communities," Hubbard said. "We have been strong advocates of the vaccine so we are leading by example."
Mercy Health Systems is the latest hospital system in the U.S. to mandate that its workers receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Wall Street Journal reports more than a dozen systems have announced in recent months they will require the shots, including major hospital systems in Missouri and Michigan, states where less than half the total population is fully vaccinated.
Yet, such mandates could alienate the more than 5 million workers in the industry.
“Just because you work in healthcare doesn’t mean you’re immune to the cultural and political influence of the community where you live,” said Dr. David Priest, an executive with Novant Health, where officials are weighing when to act.