COVID Vaccinations Required For OSF-Little Company Mary Employees

EVERGREEN PARK, IL — OSF HealthCare, which includes OSF-Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Evergreen Park, announced Wednesday that it will require all employees, or mission partners, to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of September.

The Peoria, IL-hospital network said it is following the science on COVID-19 vaccines and the pandemic situation overall, basing its decision on information and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We did not make this decision lightly,” said Mike Cruz, M.D. in a news release, the chief operating officer of OSF HealthCare. “As health care providers, it is our ethical obligation to be vigilant about the safety of our patients. Vaccinations are credited with the decline in COVID-19 hospitalizations and cases across the country and throughout our ministry, and we firmly believe that vaccination against COVID-19 is the best way to keep our patients and mission partners safe.”

This hospital network stated that its decision is consistent with existing OSF vaccination policies that require employees to get a flu shot every year and stay current with other vaccinations like measles, mumps, rubella and whooping cough. Exemptions are available for religious conscience or medical reasons and must be formally requested, documented and approved. Any mission partner who does not qualify for an exemption and who chooses not to receive the COVID-19 vaccine may be subject to our disciplinary processes, which could result in loss of employment.

“OSF has been consistent in recommending vaccinations as our best shot to move forward to end this pandemic that has taken so much from so many, but we need everyone on board to make a deep and lasting impact,” said Shelley Nguyen, vice president of workforce management, OSF HealthCare. “Our communities we serve and our patients depend on us to create a safe, healthy environment. We owe that same commitment to our mission partners.”

OSF HealthCare employs nearly 24,000 mission partners in 150 locations throughout the state of Illinois and in Michigan.