Georgia-based operators PruittHealth, Community Health Services of Georgia (CHSGa) and A.G. Rhodes on Monday announced all employees across the three companies will be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine as a term of employment.
Low vaccination rates are the “primary reason” behind the continued spread of COVID-19, the companies said in a statement; medical and religious exemptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Just over 40% of its skilled nursing facility staff are vaccinated, according to Neil Pruitt Jr., chairman and CEO of PruittHealth. Across all of its services, Pruitt hovers around 50% vaccinated staff; the operator has had less than 1% in breakthrough cases across its facilities.
“We collectively have been thinking about doing vaccines within PruittHealth and one of the principals from one of the other organizations reached out to me — that sends a powerful statement of how important we think the vaccine is to defeating COVID,” Pruitt told Skilled Nursing News, adding that the companies are usually competitors in the industry.
PruittHealth is a family-owned company based out of Chamblee, Ga., providing post-acute care services, including skilled nursing care, home health care, hospice and therapy services. Its 13,000 employees serve 24,000 patients across 180 locations in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Delta variant spread amid slow staff vaccination rates may force the federal government to act too — the Biden administration is considering withholding funds from long-term care facilities in order to boost vaccination rates, according to a Washington Post report.
“I’m not a big fan of the government mandating [vaccinations], or using economic incentives to do it. I think that the market forces will do that. People are gonna demand a safe place to put their loved ones, and that’s going to include a setting where most people are vaccinated,” Pruitt Jr. explained.
Despite the ongoing staffing shortage in the industry, Pruitt Jr. expects to see movement “toward our line of thinking,” referring to providers and operators mandating the vaccine for its staff.
“We’re hopeful that that is going to move the needle, and we’re hopeful, and time will tell, that we’re actually going to attract [nursing home] staff as one of the safest places to work,” said Pruitt Jr. “I think consumers are going to demand it.”
Pruitt is ready to use agency staff if need be, but hopes it won’t be needed, Pruitt Jr. said.
The operator has set a deadline of Oct. 1 for staff to get at least the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
“The vaccine is our most effective weapon,” Deke Cateau, CEO of A.G. Rhodes, said in a statement. “To end this global pandemic, more people — especially those who work around the highest risk members of our community — need to get vaccinated. We cannot go back to what happened last year.”
A.G. Rhodes is an Atlanta-based non-profit provider of therapy, rehabilitation, short-term recovery and long-term care; the organization has about 500 staff members.
“Acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine is the most important thing that we can do to protect our vulnerable population,” added Ronnie Rollins, president and CEO of CHSGa, a state-wide nonprofit post-acute health care system. CHSGa serves approximately 60,000 persons annually across 159 Georgia counties.
Increased cleaning frequency and staff use of personal protective equipment (PPE) will continue across all facilities, the companies said.
Companies featured in this article:
A.G. Rhodes, CHSGa, Community Health Services of Georgia, PruittHealth
