Groves Memorial Community Hospital (GMCH) and North Wellington Health Care (NWHC) announced on Monday six employees have been terminated for failure to comply with the organization COVID-19 Vaccination policy.
Over 99 per cent of the 706 employees at GMCH and NWHC are fully vaccinated.
“The health and safety of our patients and staff is our priority and requiring full staff vaccination against COVID-19 is one of the best ways of achieving this,” states Angela Stanley, president and CEO, GMCH/NWHC. “It is difficult to say goodbye to staff we have worked with, however, these decisions will help to provide the safest environment to care for our most vulnerable. The loss of staff will not impact hospital services."
The hospital and department the six former staffers worked in were not revealed.
Waterloo-Wellington hospitals jointly issued a vaccine mandate for all staff, volunteers, and contractors in September indicating that by Oct. 12 all staff, physicians, students, volunteers and contractors working at and with local hospitals are required to be fully vaccinated.
At the Oct, 12 deadline, Wellington County hospitals reported 14 employees were placed on unpaid leave due to a failure to meet a mandatory COVID vaccination policy.
COVID-19 cases in the region are on the rise and add to this flu season is on the horizon,” said Stanley. “This pandemic is not over, and we must continue efforts to protect patients and staff from COVID-19.”
The move comes as 13 hospital staff employees at Guelph General Hospital face a similar fate following their non-compliance with the hospitals mandatory vaccine policy.
The vaccination mandate is a joint initiative between: Guelph General Hospital, Homewood Health Centre, Groves Memorial Community Hospital, North Wellington Health Care Alliance, Cambridge Memorial Hospital, Grand River Hospital and St. Mary’s General Hospital.
