Baxter Regional to Comply with COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate on Health Care Workers
On November 4, 2021, under the direction of the Biden-Harris Administration, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an interim final rule requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for workers in most health care settings, including hospitals and health systems that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The interim final rule establishes a Condition of Participation that applies to most health care settings, including hospitals, critical access hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facilities, home health agencies, rural health clinics, federally qualified health centers and long term care facilities.
The regulation requires health care providers to establish a process or policy to ensure staff, except for those individuals who are granted an exemption, are fully vaccinated over two phases:
Phase 1: On December 6, staff at all health care facilities where the regulation applies must have received their first dose of a 2-shot series (Moderna or Pfizer, currently) or a single dose of a 1-shot vaccine (Johnson and Johnson, currently) in order to continue providing care, treatment or other services for the facility and/or its patients.
Phase 2: By January 4, all staff must complete the primary vaccination series.
Baxter Health has put a policy in place to comply with these regulations.
In addition, CMS provided a number of frequently asked questions on the rule.
