More than 100 FirstHealth staff schedule vaccination after mandate

Gavin Stone, Richmond County Daily Journal, Rockingham, N.C.
·3 min read

Oct. 2—ROCKINGHAM — Following the announcement by FirstHealth of the Carolinas on Sept. 22 that they would require all employees to be vaccinated by Nov. 19, more than 100 staff have scheduled a vaccination appointment, and more who have said they plan to, while "a few" have indicated that they plan to leave their positions with the hospital due to the requirement, according to a spokesperson for the company.

FirstHealth is holding weekly walk-in vaccine clinics for staff leading up until the deadline. Emily Sloan, public relations director for the hospital chain, said that employees who do not complete the 2-dose vaccine series by Nov. 19 will be suspended without pay for a period that will not exceed 28 days. Those who have not gotten fully vaccinated by Dec. 17 will be fired.

Staff who work with COVID-19 patients have been required to get the vaccine since it became available locally and were first in line for shots.

Sloan said she wasn't able to provide a definitive number on how many employees have said they plan to leave over the vaccine issue. She also did not specify how these employees have communicated their intent, whether in writing, in person, or whether hospital leadership has heard about these plans second-hand in conversations among staff.

The Nov. 19 deadline is the Friday before Thanksgiving, which is on the 25th this year. The holiday season ushered in a major spike in COVID-19 cases and deaths across the country. Since the surge in new cases in July, COVID-19-related deaths in Richmond County have reached points when they were as frequent as they were at the peak of the pandemic in January and February 2021.

From Friday, July 23, 2021 (prior to which there hadn't been a death since June 29) to Friday, Oct. 1 (10 weeks later) there have been 39 COVID-19-related deaths, including the death reported Friday. Over the 10-week period from Jan. 1, 2021 to March 12, there were 42 deaths.

FirstHealth told the Daily Journal in September that they were administering more COVID-19 tests than at any point in the pandemic. Data from both the FirstHealth system of hospitals and from the Richmond County Health Department has consistently shown that those who are not vaccinated have made up the vast majority of those suffering the worst from the pandemic.

As of Friday, at all FirstHealth locations, 12% (46) of their total hospitalized population (386) are COVID-19 patients. Of that 46 with COVID, 39 are unvaccinated. Of the 8 COVID-19 patients in the ICU, 7 are unvaccinated. Of the 4 COVID-19 patients on ventillators, 3 are unvaccinated, according to FirstHealth's COVID-19 dashboard.

The company waited until after at least one of the vaccines received full FDA approval before requiring vaccination for staff. The Pfizer vaccine received FDA approval in August. The Moderna vaccine has not yet been fully approved, though the FDA has authorized a third Moderna dose to be administered to those who are immunocompromised. FirstHealth has not specified which vaccine staff must get.

This decision to require vaccination comes after a company-wide survey, as well as multiple employee focus groups, according to the press release. Chief Executive Officer Mickey Foster said in the announcement that the requirement is in the "best interest of FirstHealth's staff and demonstrates the system's commitment to its core purpose: to care for people."

"We are committed to the health and safety of our FirstHealth family and the communities we serve," Foster continued. "Requiring COVID-19 vaccines is the right decision for our system, but it's not one we take lightly."

In addition to this requirement, FirstHealth has also been offering incentives to its employees who get vaccinated.