Bluewater Health says there are no plans to lift the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for hospital employees in Sarnia and Petrolia.
They've chosen to continue to follow Directive Six from Ontario Public Health, even though it was revoked on March 9, 2022.
Chief Nursing Executive and Vice President of Clinical Support Services Shannon Landry said although 18 employees were terminated when the vaccine mandate was implemented last year, that specifically has not led to staffing concerns.
"There were not any particular units that had a large number of staff that it would have impacted," said Landry. "It was staff pretty much spread throughout the hospital, and different professions and different positions within the hospital. So, there wasn't a huge impact on the Human Resources component of it."
Landry said, to her knowledge, none of the impacted workers have changed their minds about getting the vaccine.
She said the hospital is working hard on recruitment efforts, including with international students, noting that Lambton College is a key partner.
"We have a lot of great relationships with the college in all of the programs. We really depend on them and we work really closely with them to get the students here to get them experienced in hospital, if that's where they want to be."
Landry added Bluewater Health continues to assess staffing levels in each unit, noting the wellbeing and resilience of the employees is a top priority.
-With files from Melanie Irwin
