Johnson Memorial Hospital in Franklin is shown.
Johnson Memorial Health leaders breathed a sigh of relief Monday after a federal judge issued a stay on a federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers.
Judge Terry A. Doughty, of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, issued a preliminary injunction expanding the stay on the federal vaccine mandate for health care workers to all 50 states Tuesday. The injunction was issued in response to a lawsuit filed by attorney generals from several states, including Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita.
Doughty’s injunction applies to all but the 10 states that were not part of a separate injunction that was issued Monday from a Missouri federal court. Because the mandate involves all states, the injunction should also apply to all states, Doughty’s opinion states.
The mandate would require all individuals who work in a health care setting, regardless of whether they are involved in patient care, to receive a first dose of the vaccine by Monday and be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4. The mandate would apply to all health care companies that receive funding from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and companies that do not comply would not receive funding from the agencies.
In his opinion, Doughty said the mandate is likely unconstitutional and questioned the authority of a federal agency to implement a vaccine mandate.
“There is no question that mandating a vaccine to 10.3 million healthcare workers is something that should be done by Congress, not a government agency. It is not clear that even an Act of Congress mandating a vaccine would be constitutional. Certainly, CMS does not have this authority by a general authorization statute.”
Allowing the mandate to go forward would have violated states’ rights to create their own vaccine laws, would have harmed health care workers’ liberty and would have burdened health care administrators by requiring them to track their employees’ vaccine statuses, the opinion states.
The preliminary injunction is just the first step in the process that could go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Until there is a resolution, health networks and hospitals all over the country are in limbo, and some in Johnson County are now re-evaluating their plans.
When Dr. David Dunkle, president and CEO of Johnson Memorial Health, read the news on the injunction he was relieved, he said.
Dunkle was opposed to mandating the vaccine for all hospital employees, but was preparing to implement it and potentially fire dozens of employees on Monday. For him, it didn’t make sense to lose employees, many of whom are not involved in patient care, when there are other things that are effective at preventing the spread of COVID-19 while at work.
“I’m not going to lie. The fact that I don’t have to worry about losing good people on Monday was a relief to me,” he said.
With patient volume at hospitals around the state going up due to COVID-19 cases and other respiratory infections, losing employees would have put additional strain on hospitals that are already stretched thin, Dunkle said.
“It is a breather when we’ve never had more pressure on us from the COVID standpoint and the labor shortage,” he said. “It is all hands on deck to take care of this community.”
With the mandate on hold, unvaccinated employees at Johnson Memorial can remain employed but are still being encouraged to get vaccinated for their health and because the mandate is still in limbo.
“Our plans will be put on hold, and we will wait to see how this plays out in the courts,” Dunkle said. “We are informing employees today (Wednesday) that we are (calling off) our plans to mandate the vaccine on Dec. 6.”
Franciscan Health had not announced changes to its plans by press time Wednesday.
WindRose Health, a Trafalgar-based health care company with clinics in Johnson, Marion and Bartholomew counties, plans to continue with a vaccine mandate, said Scott Rollett, president and CEO.
“We plan to move forward with it unless Indiana passes a strict prohibition against it,” Rollett said in an email. “As a health care provider taking care of vulnerable populations, we believe it is the right thing to do to protect their health and safety.”
All but 10 of WindRose’s employees are fully vaccinated. Five submitted their resignations because they don’t want to be vaccinated. The remaining five have received an exemption or deferral.
Community Health Network implemented its own vaccine mandate earlier this year and, as of Sept. 15, 99.6% of employees are fully vaccinated.
