PITTSBURGH — A federal judge’s preliminary injunction against the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ pending requirement for all health care workers to be vaccinated isn’t altering Allegheny Health Network’s own mandate.
The Pittsburgh-based health system, which is owned by Highmark Health, confirmed to the Business Times earlier this week that it had no plans to change its mandate. Other health systems in the region had previously said they would comply with the federal mandate when it was announced by CMS in November. But other local hospital systems said this week they would comply with whatever rules are finally decided by the courts and government but had halted their individual mandates for the time being.
AHN Chief Medical Officer Dr. Don Whiting said there’s a simple reason for the hospital system to push forward with its mandate: for the safety of their employees and patients. The AHN and Highmark Health requirement, as a condition of employment, mandates either two doses and two weeks of the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccines or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson shot. It’s leading by example, Whiting said.
Read more here from our partners at The Pittsburgh Business Times.
This browser does not support the video element.