Some southwestern Illinois hospitals aren’t yet requiring employees to get COVID vaccine

While BJC HealthCare has announced that employees will be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine, other metro-east health care providers haven’t implemented similar policies.

BJC HealthCare is one of the largest nonprofit health care organizations in the United States, and nearly 75% of employees have already been vaccinated, according to a news release on Tuesday. Some employees may be granted a medical or religious exception.

While both OSF Healthcare and SIHF Healthcare said they don’t currently have policies requiring employee vaccinations, they didn’t rule out the possibility of mandating vaccines in the future, saying their policies are always under review.

OSF Healthcare oversees 14 hospitals in the Midwest, including OSF Saint Anthony’s Health Center in Alton. SIHF serves 11 counties in southwest and central Illinois, including Touchette Regional Hospital in Centreville.

Hospital Sisters Health System — which includes St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in O’Fallon, St. Joseph’s Hospital in Breese and St. Joseph’s Hospital in Highland — did not respond to a request for information about their policy.

BJC HealthCare has 15 hospitals and multiple health service organizations in the greater St. Louis area, including Alton Memorial Hospital, Memorial Hospital Belleville and Memorial Hospital Shiloh, all in the metro-east.

A growing number of hospitals and health systems are requiring employees get the COVID-19 vaccine, according to Becker’s Hospital Review, which keeps a running list.

Houston Methodist was the first to roll out its policy, announcing on March 31 that employees had until June 7 to get vaccinated. As of June 8, they reported nearly 100% compliance with its nearly 25,000 workers.