Penn HIghlands Healthcare employees will be required to be fully vaccinated by Jan.4
Penn Highlands Healthcare announced Friday that it will require employees to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4, unless they qualify for a medical or religious exemption.
The move ensures that PHH complies with an emergency regulation issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid on Nov. 4.
The CMS federal mandate addresses the risk unvaccinated health-care workers pose to patient safety; its purpose is to provide stability and uniformity among the U.S. health-care systems. The mandate is different from the vaccine mandate issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which applies to companies with 100 employees or more and allows testing in lieu of vaccination.
The CMS vaccine mandate does not allow for weekly testing as a substitute for vaccination.
The federal vaccine mandate also applies to people who conduct business with the health system including non-employed physicians, students, interns, vendors, consultants, construction and outside laborers, delivery personnel, pharmaceutical representatives, and others. People will be required to show proof of vaccination when the enter the facility.
The federal mandate does not apply to patients and their families, but they are strongly encouraged to be vaccinated. According to Pennsylvania regulations, they still have to wear a mask when in a health-care facility.
Penn Highlands Healthcare recently acquired Mon Valley Hospital and offers vaccine clinics in Clearfield, DuBois, Huntingdon, Monongahela and St. Marys.