57 Staff Terminated At Windsor Regional Hospital Over Vaccination Policy

Hello time traveller!!
This article is 925 days old.
The information listed below is likely outdated and has been preserved for archival purposes.

Windsor Regional Hospital has terminated or reduced the privileges of sixty-three employees who failed to meet the hospital’s deadline of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.

The hospital’s policy required staff to receive their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by September 22nd or they would be placed on a two-week unpaid leave. At that time 147 staff were placed on leave, and the hospital said if those staff did not receive their first dose by October 7th, their employment would be terminated, or their privileges will be suspended on an immediate mid-term basis, with a recommendation going forward that their privileges be revoked/terminated.

The hospital says 57 employees and 6 professional staff have not complied with the policy as of October 7th. Windsor Regional Hospital CEO David Musyj says the 57 employees have been terminated, however the 6 professional staff, which include doctors, midwives, and dentists, have only had their privileges reduced, and are not allowed on site. He says if the six professional staff choose to be vaccinated, they would have to re-apply for their jobs at the hospital and will lose their seniority.

Of those employees, 32 are considered clinical staff and 25 are considered non-clinical staff, the hospital says. The hospital says the unvaccinated staff were spread across multiple programs.

The hospital says recruitment to backfill the positions begins immediately.  Musyj says the hospital will be posting job vacancies immediately, and some part-time staff will move up to full-time positions as a result.

Hospital officials say 4,155 or 98.5 per cent of employees and professional staff are fully vaccinated or have complied with the policy, and the registered nurse, registered practical nurse and nurse practitioner compliance rate with the policy is 99 per cent.

“Our own staff are saying ‘thank you for doing this’,” Musyj said. “They’re saying ‘thank you for protecting me, thank you for protecting my family.'”

Hospital Chief of Staff Dr. Wassim Saad says there will be no loss of services at the hospital as a result of the terminations.