Kootenai Health delays vaccine requirement

COEUR d’ALENE — Kootenai Health has delayed by one week a requirement that its staff be vaccinated.

It previously stated employees had to be vaccinated by Dec. 6 “to ensure we are fully compliant with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) interim final rule, requiring COVID-19 vaccination for health care workers in hospitals.”

“Due to the uncertainty the court order has created, we adjusted the compliance date to Dec. 13,” said a statement from Kootenai Health on Friday.

That was a change in direction from Thursday when The Press asked if Kootenai Health would be doing the same as Logan Health in Kalispell, Mont., which suspended its plan to require employees receive the COVID-19 vaccine "following a court’s ruling that temporarily pauses a federal vaccine order for health-care workers.”

In response, Kootenai Health released a statement, which read in part: “That order does not prevent health care providers from taking steps to lessen the impact of COVID-19. The CMS rule was designed to protect health and safety and Kootenai Health still believes this to be true. As a result, Kootenai Health will continue to move forward with a COVID-19 vaccination requirement like hospitals in Boise and Spokane did even before the CMS rule.”

Kootenai Health said it will continue to monitor the status of all litigation involving the CMS rule and make any changes as warranted.

A suit challenging the federal mandate was led on behalf of multiple states, including Idaho, by Louisiana. U.S. Judge Terry Doughty on Tuesday granted the states’ request for a preliminary injunction, according to a Dec. 1 Daily Inter Lake report.

“The public interest is served by maintaining the constitutional structure and maintaining the liberty of individuals who do not want to take the COVID-19 vaccine,” Doughty wrote in his opinion.

A statement from Kootenai Health said its leaders have been in frequent communication with employees and physicians “to make sure everyone is aware of the new requirement and understands what they need to do to be in compliance.

“There are many ways for employees to be compliant with the final rule by Dec. 6, 2021, including vaccination, religious exemption or medical exemption,” the statement said.

 Kootenai Health responded to several Press questions earlier in the week regarding the vaccination requirement and its effect on its 3,700 employees and members of its medical staff.

When were employees told they would have to be vaccinated?

The rule was released on Nov. 4 and we notified our employees on the same day that we would be required to comply with this regulatory requirement. We released our policy outlining the plan to be compliant with the rule on Nov. 10.

How many have been vaccinated/seeking exemption?

We are pleased with the number of staff members who are already in compliance, but do not have final information to share at this time.   

What will come of those who remain unvaccinated by Dec. 6? 

We will comply with the regulatory requirements which include either vaccination or an approved exemption for all hospital employees and medical staff. 

Will people hired in the future have to be vaccinated?

Yes, we will comply with the regulatory requirements which include either vaccination or an approved exemption.

Have you had any employees quit because they refuse to be vaccinated?

Kootenai Health repeated a previous statement: “We are pleased with the number of staff members who are already in compliance, but do not have final information to share at this time. “

Jon Ness, CEO of Kootenai Health and Rick Rasmussen, CEO, Northwest Specialty Hospital, addressed the issue in a column published previously in The Press.

In part, they wrote: “Choosing not to comply with this new vaccination rule, and forgoing payment for half of our patients, would effectively mean the closure of our local hospitals. Clearly, that is not a path for which anyone would advocate.

“As we do with all other CMS Conditions of Participation, both Kootenai Health and Northwest Specialty Hospital intend to follow this new vaccination rule.”

Gov. Brad Little said Tuesday in a statement that the courts are recognizing President Joe Biden “has no legal authority to force hospitals and other healthcare facilities to require their employees to get vaccinated.

“His illegal attempt would intensify a problem confronting our country — we already have a short supply of healthcare workers available to handle the pandemic. As I’ve stated before, Biden’s coercive, threatening attempts to increase vaccination rates damage a country already divided. He is breeding a level of resentment and distrust of government that will take generations to heal. His actions simply are not good for our country, now or in the long term.”