West River Health Services remains committed to the health and safety of our patients, our employees, and communities that we serve. As a leader in rural healthcare we are fortunate to care for some of our service areas most vulnerable individuals. It is with this in mind that all employees under the West River Health Services Foundation and Subsidiaries (WRHSF) umbrella must adhere to the Covid Vaccine Policy recently approved by our Boards of Directors.

This policy was put into place in response to the continuing pandemic that has had a lasting impact on our patients and employees alike; as well as our continued ability to provide necessary healthcare services to those in need. Recent regulation published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services which require adherence by those who agree to their Conditions of Participation, have made it a necessity that WRHSF ensures its employees are either vaccinated against Covid-19, or have the proper exemptions in place and follow additional measures for the safety of our patient and fellow co-workers alike. Refusal to adhere to the Conditions of Participation would threaten our ability to provide care to our communities in their time of need.

WRHSF remains committed to our patients that we will provide the safest possible environment for them to receive their care. To do so we are working with our employees to make sure they have all of the necessary information to make an informed personal choice on whether to receive the vaccine or not. For those employees who choose not to receive the vaccine, there will be a process to apply for an exemption. The exemption decision making process will be completed in such a way that each request is based on the merit and not the individual making the request. We believe this is the fairest process to ensure that every employee request is given a fair and impartial view. Our goal is to work with every employee of this organization to make sure they understand the policy, the exemption process, their rights as an employee, and the impact they have on those we serve.

As a healthcare system we believe that the vaccine remains our best tool in the fight against Covid-19. We would urge those on the fence regarding whether or not to receive the vaccine to speak with their healthcare provider so that they can have the correct information to make such a decision.

Up until this point we have been very fortunate that our supply of monoclonal antibody treatments have been sufficient to treat those who meet the criteria. But we cannot rely on the hope that those will always be available. In recent weeks our facility has been down to less than 1 days’ worth of treatments on multiple occasions.

Heading into the winter months would also like to remind and urge the public to wash your hands, practice safe respiratory/couch etiquette, and when possible to utilize proper personal protective equipment such as masks.

Approaching 2 years since this pandemic first impacted our service area, I couldn’t be more proud of our staff and their efforts on behalf of those we serve. Across our health system individuals have stepped up to meet the needs of patients and they deserve our never-ending gratitude.