DUBOIS – During a teleconference update from Penn Highlands Healthcare, both Mark Norman, chief operating officer, and Dr. Russell Cameron, chief medical officer, confirmed that PHH will be complying with both federal mandates regarding COVID vaccines for all health system employees.
At the beginning of the teleconference, Norman and Cameron explained that there are two mandates, one from OSHA which allows for weekly COVID testing, and the other more restrictive one is from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), which does not allow for weekly testing.
As a result, employees within the healthcare system, including healthcare professionals and other staff, will be required to be completely vaccinated by Jan. 4.
Those who are not vaccinated will need to either have a medical or religious exemption, otherwise, they will be put on unpaid administrative leave for 45 days and, if they have not been vaccinated at that time, they will lose employment.
He explained that if PHH disregards the mandate, they run the risk of losing 66 percent of their net revenue and would incur fines, which could result in the health system closing down.
In 2020, PHH had a $1.6 billion direct impact on the local economies as well as the indirect impact.
Vendors doing business with Penn Highlands will also need to ensure their employees are vaccinated, and Norman said that to confirm vaccination status PHH will be utilizing a computer program, Vendor Mate, to track the status of those employees.
Cameron stated that there are currently 109 COVID patients in seven hospitals, 13 of those are on ventilators and within the past day four had died.
Still only about 70 percent of employees are vaccinated and the administration is encouraging those remaining to get their vaccines prior to the deadline, especially due to the ongoing staffing issues faced not only within PHH, but also throughout the state in general.
No other vaccines are mandated for employees, including for the flu, although employees who choose to not receive the flu vaccine must wear a mask.
Norman confirmed that PHH has learned of a protest planned for Friday, Nov. 19, and said that they understand people are upset and frustrated, reiterating that if PHH does not comply, the region could lose access to medical care.
He suggested that everyone who is upset regarding the mandate should contact their senators and congressional representatives.