New York soon may become the bellwether on how unvaccinated home care workers will respond to COVID-19 vaccine mandates. On Oct. 7 — a week from Thursday — New York home care workers must have at least one shot of the vaccine in their arms or be terminated from their jobs.
Glenn Lane, president of Westchester Family Care in Mamaroneck, NY, estimates about 15 of his 155 caregivers haven’t yet been vaccinated. That is creating uncertainty for Lane as he contemplates taking on additional clients.
“Normally with 155 caregivers on the roster, I’d be very comfortable taking on new clients in terms of (working) days, nights and (as) live-ins,” Lane explained to McKnight’s Home Care Daily. “We typically have a good bench and good capacity. But right now we don’t, so we really have to work closely with human resources coordinators to make sure that we’ve got a fit and a backup for anything we take on right now.”
In mid-August, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) authorized a vaccine mandate for all healthcare workers at hospitals, nursing homes and congregate care settings that took effect Monday. It was later extended to cover home care workers as well. Under the mandate, New York can deny unemployment benefits to healthcare workers who lose their jobs for refusing the vaccine.
New York’s mandate was announced less than a month before the Biden administration announced a federal mandate that also includes healthcare workers. While details of that mandate are still being ironed out, New York’s vaccine mandate could be a litmus test for what healthcare providers nationally might experience. The state is already facing multiple lawsuits over the mandate and protests from angry, unvaccinated healthcare workers.
Approximately 63% of New Yorkers have been fully vaccinated. Al Cardillo, president of the Home Care Association of New York, told McKnight’s Home Care Daily earlier that between 25% and 50% of the state’s home care and home healthcare workers remained unvaccinated at the end of August.
Despite the threat of the state withholding unemployment benefits, Lane still thinks a handful of his home care workers won’t get the shots. And despite the potential loss of workers, Lane still has plans to expand into Connecticut next year.
“There may be adjustments that I might have to make in pay or benefits due to competitive forces, but I’m not changing anything and I’m not slowing down my plans,” Lane said.
Learn more about the impact of New York’s vaccination mandate on long-term care employees in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News.
