https://www.chattanoogan.com/2021/11/12/438339/Roy-Exum-New-Hospital-Woes.aspx
Roy Exum: New Hospital Woes
Friday, November 12, 2021 - by Roy Exum
Roy Exum
Roy Exum
Earlier this week it was learned that any hospitals which rely on Medicare benefits must have every employee, contract worker and volunteer fully vaccinated by Jan. 4, or risk losing federal subsidies. In short, pandemonium and chaos are guaranteed across the nation, because to be fully vaccinated requires a month; millions of health workers are not, and in an industry already besieged by employee shortages, nothing short of calling out the National Guard will make this work.
Strike that; this week the National Guard announced anyone not vaccinated by Jan. 4 would be drummed out of the corps.
In Chattanooga, it is rumored Parkridge Hospital has already informed its employees they have no choice but to comply, and Chattanooga’s Memorial Hospital – which fired non-vaccinated nurses earlier this month – must pass the same edict down to clinical, non-clinical and related medical staff - medical students, volunteers, food service employees, janitors, all vendors, and contracted employees (or, quite literally, anyone who receives a check.)
An Erlanger spokesperson, where 7,000 will be affected, had not heard about the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid mandate, but already a 58-page lawsuit that calls such action as “unconstitutional and unlawful” has been filed by 10 states.