Nursing staff who've tested positive for COVID but have mild symptoms have returned to work at Rhode Island hospitals under new rules to ease staffing crisis - just weeks after unvaccinated health care workers were fired
- At least one hospital in the state has already let COVID positive workers return
- They must be vaccinated and have mild or no symptoms to come back
- Hospitals fired unvaccinated workers after a statewide vaccine mandate for health care workers went into effect on October 1
- Unvaccinated workers still can't go back, with a state health spokesman citing their higher viral load compared to their vaccinated counterparts
At least one hospital in Rhode Island has allowed COVID positive staff return to work as a staffing crisis grips the state months after hospitals fired unvaccinated health care workers in compliance with a state mandate.
The state-run Eleanor Slater Hospital in Cranston reached 'crisis' staffing status on Monday. Employees were told in a memo that vaccinated 'staff with mild symptoms' can return to work if called.
On December 31, the Rhode Island Department of Health updated its guidelines to allow health care facilities in 'crisis' mode to require no isolation restrictions for workers with 'asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic' cases.
The change comes after the state's vaccine mandate for health care workers went into effect on October 1. The state's two largest health systems said they would fire workers who didn't get a shot by that date.
COVID positive staff helped patients at Eleanor Slater Hospital in Cranston, Rhode Island on Saturday and Sunday as the state battles a shortage of health care workers
On New Year's Eve, the state updated its guidelines to allow hospitals in 'crisis' mode to call back COVID positive patients with mild or no symptoms. Above, an EMT helps a COVID-19 patient at Kent Hospital in Rhode Island on January 6, 2021
The state saw 100 hospitalization on the week of November 6. For the week of December 25, there were 243 - more than double
Hospitals in crisis mode have to notify the Department of Health and post the information on its website so patients and families know that COVID positive staff work there, according to the Providence Journal.
On Monday, the newspaper obtained a memo from Eleanor Slater, which treats patients with acute and long-term medical illnesses and mental health conditions.
'We have officially notified [the Rhode Island Department of Health] that we are in such a staffing situation,' the message read.
The New Year's Day memo added: 'I would like to clarify the [earlier] message to make sure that staff with mild symptoms know that they can work.'
Rhode Island Health Department spokesman Joseph Wendelken told the Journal that the hospital had one asymptomatic staffer who recently tested positive at the facility on Saturday. Another worker was on site on Sunday.
'These people on Saturday and Sunday were masked, and facility administrators communicated that they would try to have them only caring for COVID-19 positive patients,' he said.
By Monday, no COVID positive staff was working a the hospital.
Still, the hospital had not posted a notice on its website warning patients and their families that COVID positive staff were roaming its halls.
Wendelken also said that the Respiratory and Rehabilitation Center of Rhode Island, a nursing home in Coventry, was using asymptomatic staff that tested positive.
By mid-day on Monday, he walked that back, telling the Journal: 'Respiratory and Rehabilitation Center of Rhode Island is no longer at this "crisis" level. As I wrote earlier, the status of a facility is fluid.'
The Rhode Island Department of Health is not bringing back unvaccinated workers, who they say still pose a risk due to their higher viral loads. Above, a COVID patient is served lunch at a field hospital in Cranston, Rhode Island on February 10, 2021
Between the weeks of November 6 and December 25, COVID-19 cases rose by more than 400 percent to 785 per 100,000
Rhode Island updated its guidance on December 31 to match recent Centers for Disease Control guidelines that also allowed COVID positive staff to return to work during a crisis situation nationwide.
In September, the Rhode Island's two largest health systems said they would fire workers who flouted the state's October 1 vaccine mandate unless they had a valid exemption.
Lifespan Corp, which employs more than 16,000 people, boasted a 96 percent vaccination rate among workers in the days before the mandate went into effect, according to the Boston Globe.
Care New England, another hospital system, had a 95 percent vaccination rate.
'As of the October 1 deadline, Care New England will be 100 percent compliant with the RIDOH's vaccine mandate,' said President and CEO Dr. James E. Fanale in a statement before the mandate went into effect.
'As healthcare workers, we are committed to providing an environment that is safe and healthy for patients, as well as staff.'
Hospitals administrators can choose whether to bring back COVID positive staff and whether to place them only with COVID positive patients. Above, a doctor gets a COVID shot at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence in December 2020
Cases in Rhode Island have risen due to the more contagious Omicron variant
The state health department's announcement that they're allowing vaccinated COVID positive staff to come back to work, so long as they're asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic, raised questions about bringing back healthy, unvaccinated workers.
Wendelken, the health department spokesman, answered in a statement to the Providence Journal.
'An unvaccinated healthcare worker is at greater individual risk, given how many COVID-19 positive patients are in facilities.
'Additionally, someone who is vaccinated and who tested positive for COVID-19 has a much lower viral load, compared to someone who is COVID positive and unvaccinated. This means that the likelihood of transmission is much less.'
Hospital administrators are in charge of whether to bring back COVID positive workers.
Hospital admissions in Rhode Island have risen dramatically as the state navigates the more contagious Omicron variant.
The state saw 100 hospitalization on the week of November 6. For the week of December 25, there were 243 - more than double, according to state health data.
Case counts have also risen dramatically.
The state recorded 175 cases per 100,000 people the week of November 6. For the week of December 25, cases were up over 400 percent, to 785 per 100,000.
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