Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Staff at Lennox and Addington County General Hospital are now required to be double vaccinated against COVID-19.
According to a source that reached out to the Beaver, unvaccinated staff-including housekeepers, nurses and PSWs, could face unpaid leave and ultimately termination. The source said even those willing to get daily COVID-19 swabs would be placed on unpaid leave until vaccinated.
“On Sept. 7 the hospital instituted a mandatory vaccination policy,” said Tracy Ringrose, LACGH’s chief human resources officer. “That was in line with our regional partners and other hospitals within our region.”
Staff were informed on Sept. 7 that the policy would go into effect Sept. 22, the same date the province required proof of double vaccination to enter ‘higher risk’ settings.
Ringrose says each employee’s situation is unique and will be treated as such.
“Each case is reviewed on an individual basis,” added Ringrose. “It’s a confidential discussion that I would have with an individual with the employer and the staff member.”
In an email sent to its members earlier this month, Ontario’s Nurses Association warned that some workplaces would implement policies that exceed the minimum statutory requirements.
“We have seen hospitals, long-term care, LHINs/HSSCCs and other sectors introduce policies that exceed the minimum legal requirements outlined in ministry directives for vaccines,” reads the letter from ONA, which was referencing all hospitals across the province, not specifically LACGH. “For example, several employers have introduced “vaccinate or terminate” policies. These policies mandate that employees should be fully vaccinated by a particular date. If employees fail to do so, they will either be placed on an unpaid leave of absence under the threat of termination and, if they remain unvaccinated at the end of the temporary leave, their employment relationship will end.
ONA will file grievances only for nurses or health-care professionals who are disadvantaged through the imposition of a leave of absence or termination. It is important to note if you are terminated, you will need to mitigate your losses. Mitigation will be challenging given widespread pre-hiring COVID-19 vaccination requirements now in place and employees who are refusing the vaccine should be advised to consider the challenges of mitigating losses in the current context.”
ONA added it is undecided whether it would proceed to arbitration with cases and it unsure whether it would be successful if it did so.
The ONA recommended that all heath-care workers who are able to get vaccinated to do so.
Citing confidentially, LACGH management was unable to say how many of its staff was unvaccinated.