45 staff impacted following mandatory vaccine deadline at Sarnia, Chatham-Kent hospitals

Some staff at two southwestern Ontario hospitals face termination Monday, for not meeting a vaccine deadline set out by their employers.

The Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA) and BluewaterHealth in Sarniaboth had mandatory vaccination policies that have come into effect, and unvaccinated staff"are being or have already been informed"that their employment is terminated, according to news releases issued by both agencies.

CKHA said 98 per cent of its staff are fully vaccinated. As of Oct. 31, 26 CKHA staff and one physician have not complied.

The nursing compliance rate is 97.7 per cent.

"Of these staff who have not complied with the policy, 16 are considered clinical staff and 10 are considered non-clinical staff. The unvaccinated staff were spread across multiple programs and departments," the CKHA news release said.

Bluewater said the vaccination rate among its staff was 99 per cent.

"Less than 1 per cent, or 18 people, have not complied with the policy," the Bluewater release said.

Four of those employees work in clinical roles, according to the hospital.

"Our decision to implement a mandatory vaccination policy was to instill confidence in our community and organization that CKHA is a safe place to both receive and deliver care," said CKHA president and CEO Lori Marshall in the release.

"Although this is a difficult day at CKHA as we say goodbye to valued members of our team, these actions will help reduce the potential for outbreaks, service interruptions and provide an even safer hospital environment for all."

Both facilities are two of fiveErie St Clairhospitals in southwestern Ontario to have similar policies in place.

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