As of today, 97% of Therapeutic Health Services staff are either fully vaccinated or are on their way to becoming fully vaccinated. The remaining 3% of staff have been granted accommodation for either medical or religious reasons. No employee was terminated due to non-compliance.
THS CEO Patricia Edmond-Quinn said, “It was a difficult decision to require our staff to be vaccinated – particularly before so many other nonprofit organizations and for-profit companies, city, county, and state entities announced their mandates. Ultimately we decided to require vaccination to provide the best protection to our staff and our patients against the increasing number of infections caused by the delta variant.”
As essential healthcare providers, THS staff was eligible for vaccination beginning in early January 2021.
Beginning in March of 2021, THS required all staff to attest to their vaccination status and launched a campaign encouraging individuals to share stories about why they prioritized getting immunized against COVID-19.
On July 14, 2021, it was announced that effective September 1, 2021, all THS employees must be vaccinated as a condition of continued employment. The six-week timeframe allowed those who had not yet started a two-dose regimen sufficient time to complete both doses prior to the September 1 deadline. Staff with medical or religious exemptions were allowed an accommodation with appropriate documentation.
“As we move into the fall and winter months and another potentially challenging time, I feel our staff has rallied to create a workplace that is safe for them, their co-workers and the people we serve,” said Patricia.