Georgia’s largest association of long-term care providers warned that the president Joe BidenFor industries that are already facing a shortage of personnel, the vaccine task of nursing homes may bring “disastrous labor challenges.”
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Georgia Health Care Association stated that although they believe that vaccination is vital to nursing home residents and appreciate Biden’s efforts to protect these people, the union is “very concerned about this action. The labor force crisis that may exacerbate the severity of the crisis has already been experienced.”
The statement read: “If the premise of this task is to protect vulnerable people from unvaccinated workers, then the vaccination authorization for health care workers should apply to all health care institutions, because each institution is responsible for Provide services to the disadvantaged.”
On Wednesday, Biden announced that his government will require nursing home staff to be vaccinated so that these facilities can receive Medicare and Medicaid funds.
Biden said: “If you visit, live, or work in a nursing home, your risk of contracting COVID from employees who have never been vaccinated is not high.”
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According to federal data, despite being one of the first groups eligible for vaccination, there are still hundreds of thousands of nursing home workers who have not been vaccinated.
However, the Georgia Health Care Association said that the government’s practice of compulsory vaccination and allowing other front-line workers to choose not to vaccinate separately classified nursing homes as “unwise”.
“Only focusing on care centers will cause workers who are hesitant about vaccines to flee to other medical institutions,” the association said, which will “result in insufficient staff in many centers.”
The association stated that the impact of the order on nursing home staff would actually reduce the quality of care received by residents of long-term care facilities.
The statement said: “In turn, this will definitely limit the elderly’s access to long-term care and negatively affect the center’s ability to provide residents with quality care.”
Other senior officials in the nursing home industry have made similar arguments, arguing that the authorization will have an adverse effect on their workforce.
Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of the American Health Care Association and the National Assisted Living Center (AHCA/NCAL), called on the Biden government to also compulsorily vaccinate other health care workers to prevent nursing home staff from moving to other settings.
“The vaccination requirements for health care workers should apply to all health care facilities,” Parkinson said. “Without this, nursing homes will face disastrous labor challenges.”
Among the more than 600 nursing homes surveyed by AHCA/NCAL in June, 91% said they are facing a shortage of staff, and nearly 75% said that due to the pandemic, the labor situation has deteriorated compared to last year.
