Lakeridge Health staff in Oshawa and around the region need to be fully vaccinated by November 12 or face termination
Published October 15, 2021 at 3:42 pm
Unvaccinated staff at Lakeridge Health’s five hospitals have one week to get their first shot and three weeks to be fully vaccinated or face termination.
Lakeridge Health, which operates hospitals in Oshawa, Ajax, Bowmanville, Port Perry and Whitby, as well as out-patient sites across the region, established their vaccination policy “to provide the safest possible environment for patients, families and health-care teams,” with the policy coming into effect October 1.
All staff, physicians, vendors, contract workers, volunteers, and students will need to be fully vaccinated by November 12, apart from individuals who have an approved exemption.
Sharon Navarro, the health care organization’s Manager of Public Relations and Digital Communications, said staff, physicians, vendors, volunteers, contract workers and students who are not fully vaccinated must participate in weekly mandatory antigen testing. Staff, physicians, and others who have not received at least one dose of the vaccine by October 29 will be excluded from the workplace and placed on an unpaid leave of absence. And those who choose to remain unvaccinated after October 29 will be subject to termination.
Navarro said the policy is consistent with the direction taken by many hospitals and organizations in Ontario and is aligned with provincial guidelines.
Right now, 92.4 per cent of Lakeridge Health staff are fully vaccinated and another 1.6 per cent have received one dose. As of September 20, any new hires must be fully vaccinated (unless they have an approved exemption).
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