HCA Healthcare, the largest hospital company in the United States, has given medical professionals and hospital workers a coronavirus vaccine, given the recent Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the vaccine obligations for most healthcare workers. Request vaccination again.
The court withdrew the Biden administration’s order applicable to large employers last week, leaving narrower requirements for hospital and institutional healthcare workers funded by Medicare and Medicaid Service Centers.
For most of last year, the HCA requested vaccinations from healthcare professionals in accordance with this obligation. However, the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported that after a federal judge temporarily suspended delegation in early December, the HCA withdrew its requirements while awaiting a final decision from the Supreme Court. It was one of those large hospital chains.
HCA spokesman Harlow Sumerford confirmed on Tuesday that the requirements were reinstated.
“Following a recent Supreme Court ruling, we will implement the requirement to vaccinate health care workers covered by this policy in accordance with the CMS mandate rules, unless they are exempt,” Summerford said. It states in a statement in the email. “Failure to comply with CMS obligations may impair our ability to serve the community and provide care to patients under the Medicare and Medicaid programs.”
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HCA’s suspension of vaccine obligations came into effect when a variant of Omicron became established in the United States and the coronavirus spread more rapidly than ever before. Many hospitals, including Tennessee, suffer from severe staff shortages due to virus-related absenteeism.
HCA is headquartered in Nashville and owns a TriStar Hospital in central Tennessee. According to the company’s website, the company owns 186 hospitals in 20 states and employs approximately 47,000 doctors and more than 93,000 nurses.
According to Sumerford, about 90% of the company’s employees are fully vaccinated or have a medical or religious exemption from vaccination obligations.
Brett Kelman is a Tennessee Healthcare Reporter. He can be contacted at 615-259-8287 or brett.kelman@tennessean.com. Follow him on Twitter @brettkelman.
