The Biden Administration just announced that it is going to require all nursing home staff to be vaccinated as a condition of participating in Medicare/Medicaid. View the CMS release here.
LeadingAge Texas supports efforts to encourage vaccinations against COVID-19 in residents and staff. However, a great fear of LeadingAge Texas members is losing staff because of such a mandate. In a survey we sent last week, 70% of members feared losing staff if they mandated a vaccine. Add that to the fact that 70% are unable to hire enough CNAs and 60% are unable to hire enough nurses despite increasing their staffing budgets leaves many nursing facilities in a tough place. 60% of members responding also said they were using agency staff to fill positions.
While we understand that we take care of a very vulnerable population, it seems short-sighted to single out nursing home staff for this mandate. Residents will also be at risk of exposure to COVID at hospitals, clinics, physician offices and other healthcare facilities.
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