BATON ROUGE, La. — Baton Rouge's largest hospital will require all staff members to be vaccinated, as the number of COVID cases in the state's capitol continues to surge.
Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System will require all team members, employed providers, residents, students in clinical rotations, contract staff, and volunteers to be fully vaccinated in order to work at the hospital going forward.
They announced the decision Tuesday amid the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
The new policy will be implemented over the next several months, giving employees a chance to schedule an appointment to be vaccinated. Hospital officials said they expect the hospital's staff to be fully vaccinated by December.
"It is predicted that we have several weeks and possibly months before we reach the peak of this surge. We must act now to protect each other from spreading the delta variant and protect vulnerable patients from exposure. Vaccines are the best means of accomplishing this and more important than ever as the lasting step to end this pandemic. We should not wait any longer," said President and CEO Richard Vath in a statement.
Hospital administrators reaffirmed that the vaccine is the best way to stop the spread of the virus and said they hope to set an example as a healthcare leader by requiring vaccinations.
Our partners at WBRZ in Baton Rouge report that 64% of the hospital system's employees are already vaccinated.
Franciscan Missionaries Of Our Lady University, a private Catholic school sponsored by the hospital, is also requiring vaccines. All university staff, faculty and students must be vaccinated by Aug. 13, three days before classes are set to begin.
