Washington state hospitals and private health care employees were required to come into compliance this week with Gov. Jay Inslee’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. And while an overwhelming majority have opted to get the shots, some Lewis County health care facilities will have higher rates of compliance than others.
Back in August, Inslee ordered that all health care workers be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. He set a deadline for Monday, Oct. 18. The requirement also applied to state workers, educators and long term care workers, among other job sectors.
The announcement came during the height of the delta variant’s spread, and amid a worsening fifth wave of COVID-19 infections that just now appears to be waning.
At Providence Medical Group Southwest Washington — which includes Providence Centralia Hospital, Providence St. Peter Hospital and a group of about 40 clinics offering services throughout the five-county region — roughly 98% of caregivers are “in compliance” with the mandate, said Providence spokesman Chris Thomas.
“We are very happy with our caregivers coming into compliance with the mandate, and we don’t have any staffing shortages due to the mandate,” he said.
Thomas said he was unable to provide specific numbers on how many of those in compliance received an exemption. Per the state mandate, workers with either a conflicting medical diagnosis or sincerely held religious belief can file for an exemption from the COVID-19 vaccine.
Providence Southwest Washington employs about 5,000 caregivers and workers, Thomas said.
Though the deadline has passed, Thomas said Providence Southwest Washington continues to work with its out-of-compliance employees to get them in compliance. Some of those 2% of workers may be either on extended leave or a recent hire, so the hospital has prioritized working with those employees on a case-by-case basis. He wouldn’t confirm if Providence fired anybody due to the mandate.
Care for COVID-19 patients at Providence Southwest Washington hospitals peaked back in late August, when there were a total 104 patients being treated at a time.
Arbor Health, a health care provider in East Lewis County with five clinical locations, has a staff of about 239 employees and 29 contractors.
Diane Markham, public information officer for Arbor Health, said the provider lost two team members this week due to the vaccine.
Even with that number being low, “losing those two individuals was a loss. So, we definitely felt that,” Markham said.
Of those 239 employees, about 165 of them — or 69% of the workforce — have chosen to get the vaccine. The rest filed for exemptions and were granted them. Of the 29 contractors, 27 got vaccinated and the other two filed exemptions.
Markham said contractors are position-specific and include some physician and radiologist positions.
The Chronicle reached out to Valley View Health Center this week, but didn’t receive a response with data back by press deadline. The Chehalis-based health care provider operates clinics, behavioral health care, pharmacy and dental services in a three-county area.
Health care settings around Washington state in recent months have been overwhelmed with requests for care brought on by spread of the more-infectious delta variant.
Though the situation remains grim, a report out Thursday from the state Department of Health showed viral transmission and hospitalizations were on the decline, despite deaths remaining prevalent. The elevated levels of hospitalizations and low number of vacant beds may continue through the end of the fall months.
“We’re hopeful that the declines we’ve seen in the last few weeks will continue, but that will only be possible if vaccination rates continue to increase and we continue wearing masks … Our individual choices over the next several weeks will determine whether hospitals are able to return to a sustainable level of operations by the end of December,” said Scott Lindquist, the state’s epidemiologist for communicable diseases, in a statement.
Earlier this month, the report estimates, the effective reproductive number — meaning the number of people being infected per one infection — was likely at about 0.83 and declining.
New COVID-19 infections fell by about half in the last month, the report shows, though prevalence of the virus remains very high in most communities across Washington state, including in Lewis County where vaccination rates lag behind both state and national trends.
