Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH) has terminated 17 employees who failed to follow COVID-19 vaccination protocols.
Hospital communications officer Jennifer Moore said that of the hospital’s 652 active staff (excluding those on maternity/parental leaves and extended leaves of absence), 646 are now fully vaccinated, a 99 per cent compliance rate.
“As of Oct. 18, we had placed 15 staff on an unpaid leave of absence,” Moore said. “Nine entered into agreements before the Oct. 31 deadline to be vaccinated, leaving six. These six were terminated with cause for non-compliance with the mandatory vaccination policy.”
Moore said that five of the six employees worked on the hospital’s clinical side (RN/RPN/PSW/Allied Health) while the other staff member served in a clerical role.
As well, 11 employees were previously terminated with cause last month for failure to comply with the government’s Directive 6, which required weekly testing for unvaccinated hospital staff and credentialed staff.
“Of the 11 terminated for not complying with the government directive, seven of the 11 were in support services roles,” Moore said, noting that grouping includes non-clinical staff working in departments such as housekeeping, dietary, facilities and security.
“The other four were in clinical roles such as nursing, PSW, allied health, etc.”
For credential staff, a grouping that includes physicians, midwives, nurse practitioners and dentists, the vaccination rate now stands at 100 per cent.
The terminations follow a move by many hospitals across the province to ensure their employees were fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
In early September, Georgian Bay General Hospital’s chief of staff Dr. Vikram Ralhan said that full vaccination of all staff is imperative at local hospitals to ensure the community is protected.
“As a health system, we need to do everything possible to safeguard our patients, families and communities and those who provide their care,” Ralhan, who also works as an emergency room physician and coroner, said at the time.
After announcing the new vaccination policy, GBGH employed an “escalation process” to encourage unvaccinated individuals to become fully vaccinated on or before November 1st.
“Employees, credentialed staff and volunteers who have a verified medical or human rights exemption will not be subject to this escalation process,” Ralhan said at the time.
