The Biden administration introduced final week that every one nursing dwelling employees should be vaccinated towards COVID-19, or operators would threat dropping Medicare or Medicaid funding. That prompted concern amongst nursing dwelling stakeholders and rumors that dwelling well being suppliers’ employees will not be far behind.
Because the announcement, survey information is starting to show why vaccinating all nursing dwelling and residential well being workers could be a herculean feat — and the way it might put well being care suppliers throughout the nation in a precarious place.
Amongst long-term care employees, solely 57% have presently acquired the COVID-19 vaccine, based on a latest survey performed by the post-acute care administration software program firm OnShift. Over 2,000 staff responded to the survey.
Almost 40% of the respondents mentioned that they had not acquired the vaccine. Of these, solely 8% had been planning on getting it sooner or later.
Greater than half of the unvaccinated respondents mentioned they deliberate to hunt employment the place vaccines are usually not mandated, with 39% uncertain of their future employment standing.
“With the forthcoming COVID-19 vaccine mandate for long-term care suppliers, we needed to leverage our distinctive connections with supplier organizations and their workers to assist them additional put together for the continuing staffing battle with the pandemic,” Mark Woodka, the CEO of OnShift, mentioned in a press launch saying the survey outcomes. “It’s our hope that this analysis helps present perception into the mindset of long-term care employees to assist forestall a mass worker exodus from the trade.”
Initially, there’s an opportunity a few of the unvaccinated employees decide to enter dwelling well being care and different settings. If that performs out, it might briefly mitigate staffing shortages.
On the similar time, there may very well be damaging enterprise penalties if dwelling well being suppliers grow to be often called the “final refuge” for unvaccinated staff, a degree AccentCare CEO Steve Rodgers made to Residence Well being Care Information earlier this week. Moreover, any staffing good points could show short-lived, with some home-based care suppliers already uncovered to state-level mandates.
New York state has already mandated that every one dwelling well being and private care staff get a minimum of one dose of the vaccine by Oct. 7.
“These survey outcomes showcase precisely what we’ve got feared,” Mark Parkinson, the president and CEO of the American Well being Care Affiliation and Nationwide Middle for Assisted Residing (AHCA/NCAL), mentioned in an announcement. “Nursing houses can’t afford to lose any extra caregivers with out threatening entry to long-term take care of our residents. It’s important that the Administration broaden the vaccine requirement to incorporate all well being care suppliers and stop a mass exodus of nursing dwelling employees.”
In one other research, Caring.com additionally surveyed 2,000 caregivers to search out out related info. The outcomes confirmed that vaccine hesitancy is simply not a nursing dwelling employees drawback.
The survey’s outcomes discovered that one in 5 caregivers had not began the vaccination course of in any respect and that solely 50% had been totally vaccinated towards COVID-19.
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Of those that weren’t vaccinated, one-quarter deliberate on remaining so. The explanations for why they weren’t vaccinated ranged from mistrust of the vaccines — the preferred motive — to believing that COVID-19 was a hoax utterly. About one in 10 of vaccine-hesitant caregivers consider that COVID-19 is a hoax.
“In response to vaccine mandates, 54% of vaccine-hesitant caregivers would somewhat lose their job than get vaccinated,” the Caring.com survey outcomes mentioned. “Greater than 50% of unvaccinated caregivers don’t put on masks when in public or round at-risk people.”
For now, dwelling well being and private dwelling care suppliers stay steadfast of their outreach and training efforts. However for quite a lot of the coveted staff in these sectors, it looks as if no swaying can be accomplished.