Rome Health, MVHS to drop vaccine mandate for employees

Rome Health and the Mohawk Valley Health System have each announced its organization will end its mandatory requirement that all employees receive the COVID-19 vaccine in light of similar state and federal decisions, according to hospital officials.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced in early May that it would end vaccination requirements for health care facilities, and the state Department of Health notified hospitals on May 24 that the agency would no longer enforce the regulation, while working to repeal it. These decisions prompted Rome Health and MVHS to drop the requirement, officials stated.

Rome Health still “strongly recommends” that employees receive the vaccine, but it is no longer mandatory, said Director of Infection Prevention M. Katie Friot and Chief Medical Officer Cristian Andrade.

“We are hopeful that those who left our organization because of the vaccine mandate may consider coming back to MVHS,” said Darlene Stromstad, president and CEO of MVHS. “And we’re hopeful this change will also help in our recruitment efforts for much-needed employees.”

The decision for Rome Health to forgo waiting for the final ruling of the repeal was made in conjunction with the hospital’s affiliate partners, St. Joseph’s Health and Trinity of New York, Friot noted. “Rome Health will begin inviting colleagues who left due to the New York State vaccine mandate to consider returning to open positions,” Friot said.

“We will also reach out to recent job candidates who declined offers due to the mandate.”

Pre-procedure COVID testing to end June 19 at MVHS

MVHS, like hospitals across the state, will no longer be doing pre-procedure/surgery COVID testing as a result of the steep decline in COVID in the community and among the MVHS patient population.

The effective date for this change is Monday, June 19, with the last pre-procedure COVID19 tests being conducted on Wednesday, June 14. COVID-19 testing for inpatients will also be stopped as of Wednesday, June 14.

Another significant change is that a companion will now be allowed to accompany a patient into the Ambulatory Surgery Unit.

The discrete entrances for surgical patients will continue at each campus and safety associates will continue to greet and escort patients to the surgical area.

“As always, our first priority is keeping our patients as the focus of all we do,” Stromstad added. “I am really delighted that our patients can now have a loved one with them when they are going for a procedure or surgery. It feels good to be able to bring back practices that further comfort our patients during stressful times.”