St. Mary's Hospital to require COVID-19 vaccinations for staff

The exterior of St. Mary's Hospital in Jefferson City is seen Nov. 10, 2020, from Missouri 179.
The exterior of St. Mary's Hospital in Jefferson City is seen Nov. 10, 2020, from Missouri 179.

SSM Health, the St. Louis-based owner of St. Mary's Hospital in Jefferson City, will require all its staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of September.

The health organization made the announcement Monday, following the Missouri lead of BJC Health, which set the mandate about two weeks ago, and St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, which did so last week.

"As the new, highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus spurs another wave of infections throughout the United States, SSM Health is again urging all eligible individuals to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as quickly as possible," an SSM Health news release states.

SSM Health Chief Medical Officer Todd Shuman said in the news release that neither the nation, state nor communities served by the hospital system have reached a level of vaccination that provides herd immunity, which is why there has been a series of dangerous surges in coronavirus.

"The fight against COVID-19 is not yet over. We must continue to be vigilant in doing everything we can to protect our team members, patients and communities," Shuman said.

All the organization's employees must be vaccinated within the next two months.

"SSM Health will now require all its 40,000 employees, providers and volunteers to be fully vaccinated by the end of September - ahead of the cold/influenza season," according to the SSM Health news release.

SSM Health employees may request an exemption for medical or religious reasons, consistent with the health ministry's practice for other required vaccines.

A representative of Capital Region Medical Center in Jefferson City said Monday that the hospital continues to monitor the rates of COVID-19 transmission and of vaccinations. The hospital has no vaccination mandate, but strongly encourages employees and anyone else who is eligible to receive the vaccination.

Staff at Lake Regional Hospital in Osage Beach are strongly required to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, but a mandate has not yet been implemented, a hospital spokesman told the News Tribune.

Missouri Hospital Association spokesman Dave Dillon shared a statement the association released following the announcement from BJC Health.

Patient-facing physicians, nurses and other staff were among the first to receive access to coronavirus vaccinations, the statement said.

"Mandatory vaccination policies are not new to hospital staff. Influenza vaccination is mandatory at most Missouri hospitals," the statement said. "Missouri's hospital community has seen COVID-19's devastation in lives and health lost. It is appropriate that we lead in vaccination within our organizations."

Officials anticipate many more hospitals will make announcements of mandatory vaccinations, Dillon said.

"At this point, the people in the universe of hospitals that are on campus, that may not be patient-facing, we still want to get them vaccinated," Dillon said. "Hospitals are making these decisions independently. I would not be surprised if we begin to see additional hospitals begin to announce this (policy)."

This article was updated at 4:15 p.m. June 28, 2021, to add a comment from a Capital Region Medical Center representative.