Nursing homes worry that vaccine mandate will reduce staff
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Nursing homes in Rhode Island, already struggling with staffing shortages, are worried that Gov. Dan McKee’s mandate that all workers in state-licensed health care facilities must be vaccinated against the coronavirus will prompt more people to leave the field.
“There are definitely grave concerns from our members about the potential loss of staff,” John Gage, president and CEO of the Rhode Island Health Care Association, which represents 62 for-profit nursing homes in the state, told The Providence Journal for a story Monday.
“It’s panic mode for the industry,” says James Nyberg, executive director of Leading Age RI, a nonprofit organization with about 13 Rhode Island nursing homes.
A lack of staff could lead some nursing homes to limit the number of residents they admit, Gage said.
Both organizations fully endorse vaccinations and are urging all employees to get vaccinated. They are also cooperating with state public health officials.
Joseph Wendelken, a spokesperson for the state Health Department, said the agency is “working to make vaccination opportunities available to workers.”
Under the governor’s mandate, workers at state-licensed health care facilities will no longer be able to report to their jobs if they are not fully vaccinated by Oct. 1.
