PITTSBURGH (Newsradio 100.1 FM and AM 1020 KDKA) – Highmark Health and Allegheny Health Network (AHN) will require all employees to be vaccinated by September 30th, unless they have religious or medical exemption.
To date, approximately 73% of the 21,000 AHN's employees are fully vaccinated.
Effective August 16th, unvaccinated AHN employees will be required to wear a face shield at all times while working in a hospital or clinical setting, and weekly testing could become an additional measure.
Unvaccinated Highmark Health employees will be required to wear masks at all times while at organization's facilities, and fully vaccinated Highmark Health employees are encouraged to wear a mask on sites too.
"Since the beginning of this unprecedented health crisis in our community, AHN and Highmark Health have put the safety of patients, caregivers and the community at the forefront of our pandemic response strategy," said Brian Parker, MD, AHN's Chief Quality and Learning Officer. "It is abundantly clear however that the single most important thing an individual can do to protect themselves and others, and to help us bring this difficult pandemic to an end, is to receive the vaccine. We expect all of our employees to heed that call, and the new requirements we are putting in place are intended to help us achieve that goal."
"We fully intend to reach 100% of our eligible employees having received the J&J single dose vaccine, or at least the first of the Pfizer and Moderna two doses by September 30," Dr. Parker said. "We will be closely monitoring our employee's response to the new requirements we are implementing as further incentives to get vaccinated, and additional measures are being contemplated if necessary."
Meanwhile, UPMC appears to be going in a different direction.
At a briefing Tuesday about the Delta variant and COVID-19 treatment options, UPMC medical director of infection prevention and hospital epidemiology was asked if the system would mandate vaccines for employees.
"Our job is to meet people where they are," Snyder replied. "Build trust, educate people about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines, dispel myths, make it available and help people see from their own communities and hear from trusted people that vaccines are important."
UPMC later issued a statement to News Radio KDKA about where it stands on COVID-19 protocol.
UPMC recognizes that vaccination and targeted mask use are key strategies in quelling the COVID-19 pandemic. UPMC will continue its vaccine advocacy and outreach efforts, make vaccines easily and readily available for all, and maintain employee, patient and visitor masking requirements in all of our facilities regardless of vaccination status. UPMC continues to evaluate how we can further strengthen our protocols, particularly in settings with highly vulnerable patient populations.
