Northeast Ohio hospitals place hundreds of workers on leave for refusing COVID-19 vaccine

The vast majority of Akron-area hospital employees have opted to roll up their sleeves and get a COVID-19 vaccine.

Still, Northeast Ohio hospitals have collectively placed hundreds of workers on leave for refusing to get the required shot.

A mandate issued by the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services and upheld last month by the U.S. Supreme Court requires health care workers to get at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Feb. 14 and the second of a two-dose vaccine by March 15.

Hospitals that don't comply with the federal mandate could face hefty fines. 

On Thursday, Akron Children’s Hospital said 66 employees were not compliant with the vaccine mandate. Akron Children’s Hospital set its own deadline of Jan. 11 for the first dose.

Cleveland Clinic also said fewer than 450 of its 65,000 employees systemwide in the U.S. are on unpaid leave after not getting the vaccine. The Cleveland Clinic set a Jan. 27 date for workers to get at least one dose of a COVID vaccine.

Summa Health was the first hospital in the Akron area to set its deadline for employees and contractors to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 31 of last year or face termination. 

Summa allowed its employees to continue working after the Oct. 31 deadline while going through the disciplinary process. Initially 180, or 2% of employees, were not in compliance and seven ultimately were fired in late November or early December for refusing the COVID vaccine. 

COVID-19 vaccine:Summa fires 7 workers who refuse COVID-19 vaccine. CEO says mandate 'right thing to do'

In a statement, Akron Children’s Hospital Chief Operating Officer Lisa Aurilio said the 66 employees who still haven't complied with the COVID vaccine mandate represent less than 1% of the hospital's workforce.

A Children’s Hospital spokeswoman said no further information was available, including how many employees initially were put on leave Jan. 11 or when the leave-of-absences would become terminations. 

“We are hopeful that number will decrease as additional employees have indicated a willingness to comply, and we are willing to work with them," Aurilio said. "We are sorry to lose employees who have chosen to end their employment rather than comply. A vaccinated workforce is the best protection we can offer our patients, especially those who are most vulnerable, and is the best way to move beyond the pandemic.” 

At the Cleveland Clinic, 751 employees systemwide initially were placed on an unpaid leave following the Jan. 27 deadline if they didn't have a COVID-19 vaccine or approved exemption, according to a spokesperson.

COVID-19:Cleveland Clinic latest Northeast Ohio hospital to require COVID-19 vaccines for workers

Since that time, the number has fallen to less than 450 workers, according to a statement from the hospital system.

“We are proud that the vast majority of our caregivers chose to comply with the mandate," the Cleveland Clinic statement read.

The Cleveland Clinic hospital system includes Akron General, Medina Hospital and Mercy Hospital in Canton.

A Cleveland Clinic Akron General spokeswoman said the health system was not releasing a breakdown of employee vaccination rates per hospital.

Ohio is among 24 states to have the February and March deadlines. Several other states were part of a separate legal action that was not struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court and had until Jan. 27 and Feb. 28 to meet the original deadlines. 

Vaccine mandates:Akron Children's places employees who didn't get COVID-19 vaccine on unpaid leave

Other Akron region hospitals' progress on COVID-19 vaccinations 

Here’s how other hospitals with operations in the Akron region are faring in meeting the Feb. 14 and March 15 COVID-19 vaccination deadlines: 

• Western Reserve Hospital in Cuyahoga Falls has a 96% employee COVID vaccination rate, up from 91.4% in mid-January, the hospital reported. In a statement, Chief Human Resources Officer Heather L. Milicevic said: “Western Reserve Hospital will be compliant with the Federal healthcare worker vaccination requirement by the February 14, 2022, deadline. All employees not currently vaccinated have received notice of the need to submit validation of either the first dose of a two-dose vaccination series or the single-dose vaccination by 12 noon on February 14, 2022. Those employees who have not complied with this policy will be placed on leave on February 14, 2022.” 
• Holli Cholley, chief nursing and operations officer for Bath-based Crystal Clinic Orthopaedic Center, with operations throughout Summit County, said the system would be compliant by the Feb. 14 deadline: “We are offering on site vaccine clinics and also assisting our staff through the medical and religious exemption process to ensure compliance.  We currently are 91% compliant.  Pursuant to the mandate, employees not compliant by the deadline, will be placed on a leave of absence by February 10, 2022, so that we can plan for and secure staffing to care for our patients as the federal deadline approaches." 
• Cleveland-based University Hospitals, with offices throughout Summit County and a hospital in Ravenna, has not indicated how many of its caregivers are vaccinated. UH issued a statement, which reads in part: “We will comply with federal requirements and updated deadlines. Since the vaccine became available in late 2020, University Hospitals has encouraged our caregivers to get vaccinated, educated them on the benefits of vaccination, and made vaccines readily available. The overwhelming majority of our caregivers are vaccinated. We believe, consistent with the scientific consensus, that COVID-19 vaccines and boosters are the most effective way to protect our caregivers, patients and community from severe illness resulting in hospitalization and death.” 

Beacon Journal staff reporter Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at 330-996-3724 or blinfisher@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her @blinfisherABJ on Twitter or www.facebook.com/BettyLinFisherABJ. To see her most recent stories and columns, go to www.tinyurl.com/bettylinfisher.