Vermont’s long-term care industry is facing yet another workforce hurdle as the Biden administration begins enforcing its Covid-19 vaccine mandate.
As of Thursday, health care workers in roughly half the country — including Vermont — need to have at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose to remain at their job. Enforcement for the rest of the U.S. is slated to begin next month.
The federal rule takes effect as the industry struggles with unprecedented staffing shortages and rising Omicron infections. Vermont enjoys an overall high vaccination rate, but the mandate could cause some vaccine-resistant workers to leave the field altogether.
The mandate could be a blow to the already fragile long-term care industry in Vermont. The industry’s workforce challenges already reached crisis levels last September, according to a recent report from Legal Aid.
“Although we’ve done a really good job in Vermont at getting our staff vaccinated, there will be some percentage for a variety of reasons that won’t be vaccinated, and we’ll need to move on to other employment opportunities,” Laura Pelosi, a lobbyist for the Vermont Health Care Association, told lawmakers Jan. 6.
“Even losing a few staff in any facility right now is a huge, huge challenge,” Pelosi said.
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Roughly 92% of clinical nursing home staff in Vermont had at least one dose of the Covid-19 shot as of mid-January, according to Medicare data. Clinical staff at a few of those nursing homes are all vaccinated, but some nursing homes fall below the state average. The Pines at Rutland Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation has a 72% vaccination rate, the lowest in the state.
Some of these nursing homes already lack the staffing they need, according to the Medicare data.
When nursing homes and other long-term care facilities don’t have enough staff, residents there suffer. Overworked staff have less time to monitor the health of residents and build relationships with families. With more patients to look after, it’s much easier for routine tasks, such as replacing an empty oxygen tank or bathing residents, to fall by the wayside.
Vermont’s health care workers would need to get their second shot by the end of February to comply with the second phase of the federal mandate.
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