A survey published in Becker’s Hospital Review on November 3rd quantified losses among staff due to noncompliance with COVID vaccine mandates.  Among 36 facilities surveyed, terminations or resignations ranged from 0.5 percent in St. Luke’s, NYC to 30 percent for a number of small rural health systems.  On average, medical facilities achieved approximately 99 percent compliance.  Many of the terminated employees were day-workers not involved in direct patient care.

An exception is the Brownfield, TX. Regional Medical Center that may lose as many as 25 percent of employees if the vaccine mandate is enforced.  Texas is a specific exception since there is a conflict between Governor Abbott who has opposed mandates for vaccination and the Federal government that has indicated that hospital systems will lose Medicare and Medicaid funding in the event of noncompliance.  Approximately 85 percent of the nation’s hospitals receive federal funding.

Many resignations in hospital facilities especially among RNs are based on financial incentives offered by placement services including sign-up bonuses and higher rates than those offered by small rural systems. Burnout is an additional motivation to resign or retire, again disproportionately impacting chronically understaffed rural hospitals. These facilities are overwhelmed by an unnecessary demand for beds and ICU support due to prevailing low rates of vaccination in rural counties in numerous states.