THUNDER BAY — Hospitals across Northwestern Ontario have announced a region-wide mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy agreement.
The CEOs of all 12 hospitals say they are requiring staff to be vaccinated at all hospital and health care sites in their respective organizations.
They announced the decision in a joint statement Wednesday.
It followed the revelation on Tuesday that the health sciences centre in Thunder Bay is requiring staff and volunteers to have at least one dose of vaccine by Jan. 14, failing which they will be placed on an unpaid leave of absence, with termination of employment for non-compliance by Jan. 28.
The joint statement reads, in part, as follows:
As a group of leaders across Northwestern Ontario, we take our responsibilities to ensure the safety and protection of our health care workers, patients and their families most seriously.
In addition, we believe it is our collective responsibility to provide the highest standard of care while preserving and maintaining access to critical health services across our communities.
As such, given our commitment to quality and our duty to protect those that are most vulnerable, we are proud to support a region-wide move to mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies across all hospital and health care sites at our respective organizations.
The statement said the change aligns Northwestern Ontario hospitals and health care sites with long-term care homes, where staff COVID-19 vaccinations are already mandated by the province.
It was signed by the chief executive officers of Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, St. Joseph's Care group, and the hospitals in Kenora, Red Lake, Sioux Lookout, Fort Frances, Dryden, Atikokan, Nipigon, Geraldton, Marathon and Manitouwadge.
