Hospital group requires employees to be vaccinated
St. Rose Dominican hospitals on Thursday became the first hospital group in the Las Vegas Valley to require all of its employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
The requirement, effective Nov. 1, will extend beyond employees to physicians with hospital privileges, volunteers and others caring for patients within St. Rose facilities, according to Gordon Absher, a spokesman for St. Rose, which operates three hospitals in the Las Vegas Valley.
“As health care providers we have a responsibility to help end this pandemic and protect our patients, our colleagues, and our communities,” the hospital said in a statement. “Requiring vaccination for our teams is critical to maintaining a safe care environment.”
Staff can apply for a medical or religious exemption to the requirement.
The requirement will apply to St. Rose’s Siena, San Martin and de Lima hospitals, but not at this point to its four neighborhood hospitals and multiple physical therapy clinics, Absher said.
Hospitals across the country are beginning to require COVID-19 vaccination, over the objections of employees in some instances.
National Nurses United, which represents St. Rose nurses, stopped short of saying it supported a mandate.
The union “agrees that vaccination is a critically important part of a comprehensive public health program for infection control,” it said in a statement. “We strongly believe all eligible people should be vaccinated, while respecting the need for medical and religious accommodations.”
It was unclear Thursday if other valley hospitals would follow suit by requiring vaccination.
“UMC’s leadership team continues to work alongside Clark County to discuss options for employee vaccination requirements,” Scott Kerbs, a University Medical Center representative, said by email. “We expect to share additional information about this in the near future.”
The Sunrise Health System, which operates Sunrise, Southern Hills and MountainView hospitals, is not mandating vaccinations, spokesman Antonio Castelan said.
A representative of the Valley Health System, which operates Valley, Summerlin, Spring Valley, Desert Springs, Centennial Hills and Henderson hospitals, could not be reached for comment. The hospital previously said it was not requiring COVID-19 vaccination.
The American Hospital Association states on its website that it supports hospitals and health systems adopting mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies for health care personnel, “with local factors and circumstances shaping whether and how these policies are implemented.”
The Nevada Hospital Association has not taken a position on the issue, representative Amy Shogren said.
Contact Mary Hynes at mhynes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0336. Follow @MaryHynes1 on Twitter.
