A looming federal deadline is now forcing the hand of a number of Panhandle health care facilities that did not follow the lead of eastern Nebraska hospitals that issued COVID vaccination mandates months ago.
CMS, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, issued rules this month that all staff, practitioners, students trainees and volunteers in health care settings need to have received at least the first of a two-dose regimen by Dec. 4, and be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4 next year.
Top administrators at Regional West Medical Center, Sidney Regional Medical Center and Box Butte General Hospital tell KNEB News they’ve had to issue new policies to comply with the mandate, which does allow medical or religious exemptions but not the ability for the non-vaccinated to test weekly.
Officials at the Sidney and Alliance facilities specifically expressed concern about the impact of the mandate on staffing, which they say would start to become apparent as each deadline approaches.
