Any Firings At Elmhurst Hospital Over Vaccinations?

ELMHURST, IL — Elmhurst Hospital is mandating all of its employees become vaccinated for COVID-19.

The hospital is part of Edward-Elmhurst Health, which employs 8,800 people. Of those workers, 98.5 percent are vaccinated, spokesman Keith Hartenberger told Patch on Wednesday. That means about 130 have not taken the shot.

Unvaccinated employees can seek exemptions for approved medical and religious reasons, according to the hospital.

Hartenberger said he knew of no employees dismissed yet for failing to get vaccinated, but he said he could check to make sure that was the case.

"There's a process that people go through," he said. "There's a committee that looks at every situation for every employee."

In August, Edward-Elmhurst Health announced its vaccination policy in a news release. It said the rule applied to all employees, physicians, advance practice practitioners, volunteers, vendors, contractors, students and instructors.

According to the release, the vaccinations were supposed to be completed by Oct. 25.

The organization said it based its decision on clear evidence — those who receive shots are less likely to suffer from severe disease, persistent health consequences and even death.

Mary Lou Mastro, the system's CEO, said the organization realized not everyone would agree with the decision.

“We believe that our patients have a right to expect healthcare workers to have taken all steps to minimize the risk of infection, including vaccination,” she said in the news release. “Hospitals have a unique role in the fight against COVID-19, as evidenced by the fact that healthcare workers were the first to be vaccinated."

She continued, "Quite simply, healthcare workers are at risk for COVID-19, especially when unvaccinated, and our teams are in contact with vulnerable patients every day, many who are elderly, sick or immunocompromised."