COVID-19 vaccine deadline arrives for UnityPoint Health workers

Monday marked the deadline for all UnityPoint Health employees to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, with the vast majority of staff at the system’s Cedar Rapids-based hospital now in compliance with the policy.

Approximately 99.5 percent of staff at UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s Hospital are compliant as of Tuesday, meaning they have completed the COVID-19 vaccine series or have been approved for a religious or medical exemption.

Employees who fail to be vaccinated and don’t meet the criteria for an exemption were placed on administrative leave starting Tuesday, officials said.

Officials opted for administrative leave, rather than termination, to allow for consideration of exemptions made possible under a new state law. Signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds last week, the law requires businesses to grant employees’ written request for a waiver from the vaccine requirement, making it easier for staff to claim religious or medical exemptions.

The remaining 0.5 percent of workers who are non-compliant reflects “a range of team members,” St. Luke’s spokeswoman Sarah Corizzo said in a statement. That includes those in the process of leaving the hospital because they chose not to get vaccinated, those requesting an exemption under the new law and those who plan to be fully vaccinated but haven’t completed the series.

St. Luke’s officials declined to state the number of employees who are non-compliant, including the total staff members who were placed on administrative leave Tuesday.

“The overwhelming majority of our team members supported the science and willingly got vaccinated against COVID-19 or received an exemption,” Corizzo said in a statement. “We regret losing any employee for not complying with our vaccination policy; however, having a vaccine-compliant workforce aligns with our values of protecting the health and safety of our patients, team members and communities.”

UnityPoint Health mandated all 33,000 employees — regardless of whether they provide direct patient care — must be vaccinated or request accommodation by Nov. 1. Workers who choose not to will be subject to voluntary resignation or termination, officials said in the announcement this past August.

In total, 97 percent of all UnityPoint Health staff were compliant with the vaccination policy as of Monday, officials say.

► RELATED: MercyOne extends COVID vaccine deadline following new Iowa law

St. Luke’s Hospital officials would not comment on the current vaccination rate among staff, stating they would not share details on personnel actions.

Officials also declined share the total number of employees who requested an exemption, just stating that “a small number of team members” asked to be absolved of the vaccination requirement for religious or medical reasons.

Exemption requests are reviewed by a committee and granted on a case-by-case basis “to ensure a consistent and equitable process in compliance with Title VII,” Corizzo said, referring to the Civil Rights Act provision that prohibits discrimination.

Before the mandate, approximately 85 percent of St. Luke’s Hospital staff were compliant, Corizzo said.

When COVID-19 vaccines first received emergency use authorization by federal health officials, UnityPoint Health provided “extensive and ongoing education,” Corizzo said, which included virtual town halls led by clinical experts as well as one-on-one conversations between leaders and staff.

“As we move forward, we continue to emphasize the importance of getting vaccinated against COVID-19,” Corizzo said. “For those in our communities who are eligible, receiving the vaccine is the best way to help keep health care workers healthy, so our teams can focus on providing care to those who need it most.”

Health care worker criticizes mandate

COVID-19 vaccine mandates from employers, both in health care and other sectors, has drawn sharp criticism from some groups.

A rally held in Cedar Rapids last week drew roughly 150 attendees to protest vaccine mandates, from employers as well as other government entities. Among the group were a few health care workers objecting to the requirement at local hospitals.

Marcia Simon, 61, of Cedar Rapids, is a registered nurse at St. Luke’s Hospital's inpatient hospice unit who attended last week’s rally. She received a religious exemption when she told her employer the vaccine mandate “goes against what I believe as a Christian.”

Simon is not against vaccinations, but said she strongly opposes vaccine mandates.

She said health care workers work to provide information to patients and their families to help them make the best choice, but ultimately decisions about their health care are up to them. Simon said she believes that same opportunity is not being provided to health care workers.

“As health care professionals, we don’t force medical procedures on anybody, but yet they’re being forced upon us,” Simon said.

However, Simon did not plan to get the COVID-19 vaccine even before the mandate, saying she believes the vaccine was released too quickly and that she’s fearful of potential adverse reactions.

Simon also said she plans to get a religious exemption for the influenza vaccine mandate implemented at St. Luke’s, though she has received that shot in the past.

“I’ve had the flu vaccine in the past no problem, it was my choice,” she said. “But now I do have a problem because it’s being mandated.”

Simon plans to stay in health care until she retires.

Other hospitals implement COVID-19 mandates

The West Des Moines-based organization — which operates facilities across Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin — is among several health care systems that have implemented the requirement for staff.

About 41 percent of hospitals in the United States have some type of COVID-19 vaccine mandate, according to the American Hospital Association.

That includes other local health care facilities such as Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids. All employees and volunteers there must be fully vaccinated by Nov 15.

MercyOne announced this week its employees in the in the central and northeast regions of the state have until Nov. 12 to submit proof of vaccination or file for an exemption for medical or religious reasons.

The Iowa City Veterans Affairs Health Care System falls under a federal vaccination mandate from the Department of Veterans Affairs, which announced all front line workers had until Oct. 8 to submit documentation of vaccination or to request accommodation.

All other VA employees have until Nov. 22 to be fully vaccinated or have an exemption request on file.

The vaccination rate at the Iowa City-based health system is approximately 91 percent, officials said.

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