Oregon Nurses Association Statement on New Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Rule For Health Care Workers
News Release from Oregon Nurses Assn.
August 19th, 2021 12:44 PM
Downloadable file: Oregon Nurses Association President Lynda Pond, RN
(Portland, Ore.) - Oregon Governor Kate Brown’s announcement today of a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for nurses and other front-line health care workers will likely increase vaccination rates among those workers but will also put additional pressure on an already dangerous nurse staffing crisis in Oregon.
The Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) knows that vaccines are the most important tool for protecting our members, their patients and families, and our communities from the ongoing spread of COVID-19. We know Oregon’s registered nurses and nurse practitioners have already achieved a high rate of vaccination. We also know that some health care workers are deeply opposed to vaccine mandates; so deeply that some will leave the profession before accepting a mandate.
Governor Brown’s previous rule that required weekly testing with a waiver for health care workers who show proof of vaccination was a reasonable compromise that encouraged vaccination while protecting public health. Today’s decision to mandate vaccinations for health care workers may ultimately exacerbate an already dangerous staffing crisis in hospitals across the state.
ONA calls upon all stakeholders to join us in taking urgent, innovative steps to address this crisis now. We call on hospitals and health systems to focus on nurse retention and recruitment, invest in health care workers serving on the frontlines and open up a space at the decision-making table so they can hear from frontline nurses and caregivers. We must work together to protect our communities during this crisis.
In addition, ONA-represented facilities must bargain immediately on the impacts of this change to the conditions of employment as required by law. ONA is already at the bargaining table in some of our represented facilities, and we will demand to bargain with all our represented facilities on the wide and varied impacts of this change.
ONA believes that the COVID-19 pandemic has shone a light on the deep fractures in our health care system.
Lynda Pond, RN, ONA President said, “For decades, hospitals have cut corners and failed to invest in nursing staff. People across the state are now bearing the full burden of these failed policies. This is about more than vaccine mandates: this is about a legacy of false promises and failures on the part of hospitals who put more value on their profitability than they do on protecting patients, providing safe staffing, or ensuring nurse retention.”
The Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) is Oregon's largest and most influential nursing organization. We are a professional association and labor union which represents 15,000 nurses and allied health workers throughout the state. Our mission is to advocate for nursing, quality health care and healthy communities. For more information visit: [www.OregonRN.org]www.OregonRN.org.
Contact Info:
Kevin Mealy, Mealy@OregonRN.org, 503-293-0011 (o), 765-760-2203 (m)
Scott Palmer, Palmer@OregonRN.org, 503-293-0011 x1316 (o), 503-517-4840 (c)