Published On: October 4, 2021
St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital (STEGH), like many other hospitals in Ontario, is implementing a COVID-19 vaccination policy for everyone working in the hospital environment.
On September 1, 2021, STEGH implemented a Vaccination Policy in accordance to Directive #6, issued by Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health. Since that time, there have been developments that have changed the landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic and as such, the hospital has re-evaluated its Vaccination Policy in order to uphold the high standard of care that the community expects and deserves. This means that STEGH employees and physicians are required to receive their first dose by October 20 and their second dose by November 18.
Currently, 97 percent of employees and physicians at STEGH have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
COVID-19 vaccines have proven to be effective in reducing the transmission of COVID-19 and related hospitalizations. “We are very proud of the high vaccination rates in our hospital,” says Karen Davies, President and CEO. “Moving to mandatory vaccination is our next step as we have not been able to achieve 100% without it. The safety of our patients and our staff is our number one priority and we are taking the necessary steps to protect everyone’s health and wellbeing.”
“Our health care teams have worked tirelessly to protect our community over the past 18 months,” says Dr. Waleed Chehadi, Chief of Staff. “These individuals deserve the protection and support to enable them to do their jobs safely, and to the best of their abilities.”
Based on modelling from the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, we expect to see another surge in cases in hospitals in our province over the next several months, impacting all age groups and all hospital services. Full vaccination of our teams is critical to maintain a safe environment for everyone in the hospital – it will reduce the spread of the virus, decrease the risk of outbreaks and ensure health care services are delivered as safely as possible.