This Tri-Cities hospital 1st to require employee COVID vaccines. Others to follow

Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland, the largest hospital in the Tri-Cities area, is requiring its employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

To date it is the only hospital in the Tri-Cities area to take that step, but on Monday afternoon Gov. Jay Inslee announced he was mandating vaccines for not only all state employees, but all healthcare employees.

The mandate for health care employees would cover hospitals and nursing homes, among others. Their employees have until Oct. 18 to be fully vaccinated.

In addition, other government and private employers in the Tri-Cities are requiring vaccinations now or making plans for it.

Kadlec, which employs just over 3,700 people, has told employees they need to show proof of vaccination by Sept. 30.

Those unable to be vaccinated will be required to sign a declination and follow additional protocols.

Those will include enhanced testing for COVID-19, mandatory vaccine-related education and discussions, and possible other infection prevention requirements to meet facility policy or Centers for Disease Control, state or local public health mandates.

All employees continue to be required to wear face masks.

The requirement applies to all Providence Health hospitals, including Kadlec, St. Mary Medical Center in Walla Walla, and Spokane’s Sacred Heart medical center and children’s hospital, St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Medical Center and Holy Family Hospital.

The Washington State Hospital Association supports COVID-19 vaccination requirements for health care workers.

“Our state’s health systems and hospitals have seen firsthand how debilitating and deadly this disease can be,” said Cassie Sauer, president of the association.

In Benton and Franklin counties 70 people were hospitalized for COVID-19 treatment Friday, the highest number in 2021.

Hospitals across the state are treating more COVID-19 patients as the delta variant spreads, almost all of them not fully vaccinated, according to the hospital association.

“Sadly, some individuals who declined vaccination and became ill request the shot after it is too late and they are near death,” the association said in a statement.

Vaccinating hospital and health system employees against COVID-19 is vital to allow them to safely care for patients and to stop the spread of the virus within health care facilities and among co-workers, the association said.

Trios, Lourdes, Prosser hospitals

Trios Health in Kennewick and Lourdes Health in Pasco have not required employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, but have been strongly encouraging them as evidence grows daily that the vaccines are safe and effective, the hospitals said in a joint statement before the governor’s announcement. Both are owned by LifePoint Health.

“Understanding that the situation changes daily, we are committed to carefully evaluating the research and the level of COVID-19 activity in our communities as we make this very important decision independent of approval from the Food and Drug Administration,” the two hospitals said.

Prosser Memorial Hospital, the fourth hospital in Benton and Franklin counties, also has not ordered mandatory vaccinations, said Dr. Robert Wenger, medical director of Prosser Memorial Health emergency department, at a news media briefing Friday.

Discussions are being held with workers who have not gotten vaccinated

“The risks of the vaccine at this point are minimal compared to the risks of COVID itself,” Wenger said.

The vast majority of adverse reactions to the vaccine are mild and temporary, unlike the long term effects of COVID-19 for some people, he said.

“A lot of (COVID-19) patients report chronic headaches, chronic fatigue, brain fog,” he said. “We’re having patients with lung damage that is likely long lasting and potentially lifelong. ... They’re requiring hospitalization for mild illnesses that prior to COVID they would have handled without any issues.”

Other Tri-Cities employers

Plans are being made at the Hanford nuclear reservation to implement President Joe Biden’s mandate that federal government and contractor workers be fully vaccinated or undergo regular testing.

“If you have not yet been vaccinated, please consider speaking with your personal health care provider for relevant vaccine information and advice,” workers were told in a recent message.

Hanford employs about 11,000 federal, contractor and subcontractor workers on maintenance and environmental cleanup of the site used to produce about two-thirds of the plutonium for the nation’s nuclear weapon program from World War II through the Cold War.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory— which employs about 5,000 federal contract workers, the majority in Richland — is requiring the roughly 1,500 workers on its Richland campus each day to wear face coverings when anyone else is in the same room. No vaccine mandate has been announced.

Tyson Fresh Meats, in Wallula, is requiring its 1,400 employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Nov. 1. The majority of them live in the Tri-Cities.

It will make exceptions for people with medical or religious reasons not to be vaccinated.

Debbie Cockrell of The (Tacoma) News Tribune contributed to this report.

This story was originally published August 9, 2021 at 1:17 PM.