By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
The Wood County Board of Health will require its clinic staff and board members to be vaccinated against COVID – if it becomes necessary.
The board has been preparing for the enforcement of a federal mandate that would require all employees to be vaccinated against COVID at health facilities receiving Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.
The issue had been put on pause by an injunction in a Louisiana court.
But on Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court lifted the stay, in favor of the mandate from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. While the high court blocked the vaccine mandate for large businesses, it has allowed the mandate for healthcare facilities to move forward.
When the mandate was initially proposed, Wood County Health Commissioner Ben Robison had asked the county prosecutor’s office to determine the scope of the vaccination rule. Does it just apply to the health department’s community health clinic, which gets Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements for services? Or does it apply to the entire health department?
On Thursday evening, Robison gave the board of health three options for moving ahead on the mandate.
The first two options – of requiring all health department staff to be vaccinated, and of finding other building locations to house non-health clinic services – were rejected.
Instead the board decided to limit the scope of the mandate to those staff who work in the clinic and board members.
“It does raise a risk” of losing federal funding, Robison told the board. “But I don’t think that’s likely.”
The mandate comes with three levels of violations, with the most severe sanction being the termination of Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.
Those clinic reimbursements add up to $843,211 a year – which is 55% of the annual revenue at the Wood County Community Health Center. And that could be just the start of the funding losses, since the eligibility for grants and other money may be cut to facilities that aren’t fully vaccinated, Robison cautioned.
Board member Richard Strow offered a compromise – a “just in case” motion, if the federal mandate makes it through court challenges. He proposed that the vaccine mandate cover the health clinic staff and the health board, adding that the employees should not be asked to do anything the board isn’t willing to do.
“That would show our employees we are responsible to not only them, but also members of the community,” Strow said.
Those required to get the vaccine would include employees, licensed practitioners, students, trainees, interns and volunteers, board members and individuals who provide care, treatment or other services for the health and dental clinic.
Approximately 2,500 county residents receive care at the health department clinic, Strow said.
“We cannot, under any circumstances, put that at risk,” Strow said.
Board member Rachel Bowlus voiced concern that the vaccine mandate not be acted upon unless it becomes necessary.
Strow agreed, but stressed that the health clinic must be in compliance if the mandate stands.
Board member D.J. Mears asked about the ramifications if an employee or board member has a reaction to the vaccine.
“Are we going to be held liable?” personally or as the health department, Mears asked.
“There is no liability for the board members or the health department,” Robison responded.
Robison said the health department will be liberal with allowing religious exemptions.
Mears voiced concern that the medical exemptions are too narrow. “I’ll be one asking for an exemption,” he said.
Board member Kim Hertzfeld said the mandate is coming at a bad time – with healthcare already struggling to keep up with staffing demands.
“We have this hanging over our heads, that we may lose funding,” Hertzfeld said. “The government has tied our hands.”
“Screw the government,” a woman shouted from the lobby.
The motion to require the clinic staff and board to be vaccinated passed with Tom Milbrodt, Nilgun Sezginis, Bob Midden, Cathy Nelson, Dallas Ziegler, Bowlus and Strow voting in favor. Voting against were Mears and Hertzfeld. Abstaining was Susan Yoder, who was attending her first meeting as a board member on Thursday.
