Another health care giant with a Modesto hospital will mandate vaccines for staff
Sutter Health of Sacramento announced a new policy that aims to have its workforce fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of September.
Sutter is affiliated with Memorial Medical Center in Modesto, Memorial Hospital Los Banos and the Sutter Gould Medical Foundation physician offices.
Sutter noted that a growing number of health care organizations are requiring employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19, as the delta variant creates a surge in COVID-19 cases across California.
Sutter, which has more than 50,000 employees in the Sacramento area, Central Valley and Bay Area, is requiring its employees to be fully vaccinated by Sept. 30.
Liz Madison, a Sutter spokesperson, said Wednesday the majority of Sutter employees and physicians are vaccinated. She did not release an actual count.
“Our rigorous COVID-19 infection prevention protocols have so far helped protect the health and safety of our patients and workforce,” said William Isenberg, chief quality and safety officer for Sutter Health. “However, these measures alone are not enough against the increasing threat of highly infectious variants like delta.”
Kaiser Permanente announced Monday it was making the vaccine mandatory for its employees and medical staff.
California recently required all health care workers to show proof of full vaccination or get tested for the coronavirus on a weekly basis. The state order regarding health worker vaccinations goes into affect Aug. 9 and must be implemented by Aug. 23.
This story was originally published August 4, 2021 at 12:50 PM.
