CentraCare Will Require Employees to Be Vaccinated Against COVID-19

(KNSI) – CentraCare is requiring its employees and clinicians to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

In a Wednesday statement, CentraCare employees should finish their vaccination series by December 15th. Letters to staff members reportedly mentioned a benchmark date of November 1st for employees’ first dose.

The requirement applies to all CentraCare and Carris Health staff, including those working remotely, on-site volunteers and staff members who are contracted with other companies but work in those medical facilities.

In an email to all CentraCare and Carris Health employees and clinical partners, the executive team praises the staff’s commitment to the safety of their communities.

“But the pandemic is not over,” the email says. “And the virus is still greatly impacting our communities. As healthcare workers, we have made a commitment to do everything in our power to save lives, protect patients and educate the public during this crisis. Because the health of our patients — and our staff members — means everything. That is why the Executive Team, with the support of the Board of Directors, has made the decision to make the COVID-19 vaccine a requirement for all employees and clinicians of CentraCare.”

“We did not come to this decision lightly and believe the decision to require vaccination best serves the collective good of our staff and community,” said CentraCare’s president and CEO Dr. Ken Holmen. “The science shows us that no other strategy has proven to be more effective in fighting this virus.”

It is unclear what action will be taken, if any, if a CentraCare employee is not vaccinated by those benchmark dates. However, CentraCare says there will be a process for employees to apply for religious or medical exemptions.

“More than 92% of CentraCare physicians and 94% of advanced practice providers have received the COVID-19 vaccine since it first became available in December 2020,” the statement reads. “And we’ve administered more than 174,000 vaccine doses to members of our communities.”

CentraCare joins several other Minnesota health care systems, such as the Mayo Clinic, Allina, Essentia Health and Children’s Minnesota, requiring employees to get vaccinated.

Last week, CentraCare recommended that students and staff in area K-12 schools mask up amid the spread of the highly contagious Delta COVID variant, as children age 11 and younger cannot get vaccinated against COVID.

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