Here’s how Tri-Cities fire departments and hospitals did meeting COVID vaccine mandate

Tri-Cities hospitals and most fire departments are reporting good compliance among employees required to meet a Washington state COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Gov. Jay Inslee required most health care workers in Washington state to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or have approved religious or medical exemptions by the end of the day Monday.

The rule covers firefighters who perform medical functions, including those licensed by the state as emergency medical technicians or paramedics.

State employees also were covered by the rule.

Two Tri-Cities fire departments had 100% compliance and the Tri-Cities hospitals reported about 95% of staff were either fully vaccinated or had received exemptions.

Here’s how fire departments, hospitals and some other agencies did:

▪ Kennewick Fire Department has all firefighters either fully vaccinated or with approved exemptions and accommodations.

Of the 91 employees in the fire department, 86% are fully vaccinated.

▪ Pasco Fire Department reports that 90% of its firefighters are fully vaccinated.

Most of the remaining 10% have approved exemptions, with the department working through the few remaining ones.

▪ Richland Fire Department reached 100% compliance with the vaccine mandate by Oct. 5.

Of the 71 employees affected by the rule, 53 are vaccinated and 18 were granted a medical or religious accommodation.

▪ Benton Fire District 1 has all emergency responders either vaccinated or granted exemptions.

The mandate also covered support services, including people who support firefighters on scene, including sometimes doing blood pressure checks.

Two of those people did not respond by the vaccine mandate deadline. Until they meet the mandate requirements they cannot participate in district activities.

The fire district serves south Kennewick, Finley, Rancho Reata, Triple Vista and Badger Canyon.

▪ Benton Fire District 4, which serves West Richland and surrounding areas, had about 50 personnel required to be vaccinated or have exemptions approved.

Eight volunteers declined to be vaccinated and have left the agency. The fire district continues to recruit volunteers.

▪ Washington State Patrol, which is covered by the mandate as a Washington state agency, reported that five commissioned workers were no longer employed in District 3.

District 3 covers Benton, Franklin, Yakima, Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin counties.

The three commissioned workers were among 67 troopers, six sergeants and one captain who no longer work for the agency due to the vaccine mandate on Tuesday, in addition to 53 civil servants.

District 3 and District 6, which includes central Washington north of Yakima and Benton counties, lost the fewest commissioned workers in the state, with five each.

District 5 in southwest Washington lost 14 commissioned employees, the most of any district.

“As the agency moves through the next several days, leaders will gauge the immediate actual impact for short-term mitigation,” WSP said in a statement. “In that time, the agency will move resources where necessary and specific personnel losses demand adjustment.”

▪ Lourdes Health in Pasco and Trios Health in Kennewick, both owned by LifePoint Health, reported that 95% of the 1,700 employees at both are fully vaccinated or had been granted an exemption.

Like many hospitals across the country, staffing continues to be a challenge for the two hospitals, Lourdes and Trios said in a joint statement.

“We are continuing to closely monitor our staffing levels,” they said. “At this time, we have adequate staff and resources to care for our patients.”

Trios and Lourdes both support the state’s vaccine rule for health care workers.

“We know that the COVID-19 vaccine is our best defense against this virus and getting vaccinated supports our mission of making communities healthier,” they said.

▪ Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland reported that almost 96% of staff had been vaccinated or received an exemption.

“The remaining caregivers who did not submit proof of vaccination or submit an exemption request were placed on leave and we are working with each individual to help them come into compliance,” said a statement from Kadlec.

The vast majority of Kadlec caregivers are vaccinated, which Kadlec called an essential step toward keeping caregivers and patients safe, it said.

“At this time, our operations will not be significantly affected by staff losses associated with the government vaccination mandate,” it said. “We have contingency plans in place in case this changes.”

▪ HPM Corp., the Hanford site occupational health provider, initially reported that seven of about 100 employees had not received a vaccine or an exemption.

It revised its statement on Wednesday to say that the seven employees had received an exemption and an appropriate accommodation.

This story was originally published October 20, 2021 at 12:52 PM.