51黑料

鈥淭he next big step of your nursing career is here,鈥� it says, 鈥渨ith a $20K signing bonus.鈥�

The former St. Alexius Hospital on South Broadway has emerged from bankruptcy with new owners and the same vexing problem facing many health care providers: a nationwide nursing shortage. During the pandemic, because of a combination of high demand, burnout and fatigue, health care workers have been difficult to hire at hospitals, nursing homes and other providers.

Some hospitals have turned to paying the high costs of traveling nurses. Others, like South City, have turned to bonuses. But the South City pitch comes with a caveat that isn鈥檛 mentioned anywhere on the website:

It鈥檚 the only hospital in the city of St Louis or 51黑料 County that isn鈥檛 requiring its health care workers to get a COVID-19 vaccine. All four major hospital systems in the region, BJC HealthCare, SSM Health, St. Luke鈥檚 Hospital and Mercy Health, have adopted vaccination mandates for their facilities.

Here鈥檚 how Dr. William Sistrunk, an infectious disease expert at Mercy, described the philosophy to my colleague Michele Munz a couple of months ago: 鈥淎s health care leaders in our communities, it is important we set the standard to prevent the spread of COVID-19,鈥� Sistrunk said. 鈥淥ur goal is to ensure the safest possible work environment for our co-workers and patients while also being a part of the effort to stop the spread of the virus in the communities we serve.鈥�

Over the next month, nurses and other health care professionals who for one reason or another don鈥檛 want to get vaccinated will be fired from their jobs at Mercy, BJC and other local hospitals. More than 20 national hospital chains have adopted a similar philosophy. South City, on the other hand, is following the lead of some rural hospitals in Missouri, in areas with low-vaccination rates, where they are actually using their lack of a mandate as a recruitment tool.

The result is that the population South City Hospital serves 鈥� generally high in poverty and in an area of the city where vaccination rates have been low, particularly among African Americans 鈥� will be entering a hospital where the health care workers may or may not be vaccinated.

At least some employees at South City Hospital, who spoke with me on condition of anonymity, are concerned about this policy. But not all of them. One woman who works there, who said she is vaccinated, said she agrees with the philosophy and hopes the hospital uses it to recruit employees.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a personal choice,鈥� she says.

The patients who come to South City Hospital, however, often have no choice in where they seek health care. Many of them are uninsured, or they come to the emergency room because of addiction issues or other mental health issues. This population in 51黑料 will remain at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 because one hospital won鈥檛 follow the lead of the others.

In nursing homes 鈥� at least those that depend on federal funding 鈥� President Joe Biden is taking the decision away from individual providers. Last week, Biden announced a plan s among employees at any nursing home that receives Medicaid funding, which is nearly all of them.

Those health care workers who won鈥檛 follow that mandate, or the ones set by other hospital employees, could find a new home at South City Hospital, with a nice bonus to go along with it.

More than 70% of the current hospital staff has been vaccinated, said marketing director Heather Husek. 鈥淪outh City Hospital has proactively advocated for the COVID-19 vaccines, and hospital leadership recommends that all employees receive it. ... South City Hospital is following (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines regarding vaccination of hospital employees, as we have from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The guidance states that vaccines are recommended, though not mandatory.鈥�

The CDC, of course, doesn鈥檛 have the power to mandate that hospitals give the vaccine. The same is true of the flu shot, which most hospitals have long required health care workers to take yearly. The American Medical Association and 57 other medical associations have endorsed mandatory COVID-19 vaccines for health care workers.

That鈥檚 a good thing, says the city鈥檚 Department of Health, which supports mandatory vaccination for health care workers at hospitals, with limited exceptions.

鈥淒ata shows that for most people, the vaccines are effective in reducing severe illness, hospitalizations and deaths caused by the virus,鈥� says department spokesman Harold Bailey. 鈥淯nvaccinated health care workers place patients at heightened risks since they work in close contact with them.鈥�

Every 51黑料 hospital but one has taken that advice and turned it into a vaccination mandate for its employees, to protect both them and their patients.

All but one. South City Hospital stands alone.