In the Best Interest of Patients

Good morning!

As current or future health care professionals and critical staff who work to advance all of our mission areas, we have a shared responsibility to put the best interests of our patients first in all that we do. At UMMC, we take care of the sickest patients in Mississippi. These patients range from the tiniest babies to immunocompromised adults to trauma victims to transplant patients and everyone in between. I am proud of the work that you do here every day. You inspire me – and that has never been truer than during the last 18 months, as we have responded collectively to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Whether you are in a hospital or a clinic, a research lab or a school, or whether you work in one of the many essential support units, you have chosen a profession and a place of employment that often requires you to put others first. Now is one of those times.

As members of a health care organization that is an academic medical center, we are held to a higher standard in our state. At every turn, our health care heroes have met that standard, and we should be leaders in any public health matter.

After much deliberation, review and critical conversations concerning the latest research, we announced yesterday a new COVID-19 vaccination policy, which can be found here.

Beginning Monday, July 26, 2021, we will institute a phased-deadline approach so that by November 1, 2021, all UMMC employees and students will have either been vaccinated or will be wearing an N95 mask to protect themselves and others. Yesterday, you received a Campus Memo regarding this new policy, which is in keeping with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and recommendations by the Mississippi State Department of Health. I strongly encourage you to read the full policy, but in short, here are the keys facts:

• Fully vaccinated persons will be eligible to display an identifier – a sticker on their respective UMMC ID badges – and will only be required to wear a mask whenever they are in direct-patient-care areas. In patient-care areas, the UMMC policy for mask use will remain in effect. The fully vaccinated identifier is optional, but must be visible for those who wish to go un-masked in non-patient-care areas.
  
  
• Anyone who is not fully vaccinated will be issued an N95 mask that must be worn at all times in any UMMC facility or clinic, including non-patient-care areas, with certain exceptions.
  
  
• Once any COVID-19 vaccine administered by UMMC receives full FDA approval, being fully vaccinated will become a condition of employment or enrollment for all Medical Center employees and students. This type of requirement is not new and is in line with our longstanding practice for confirmed immunizations for flu, MMR and other conditions.

If you have not been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, I ask that you do so as soon as possible. It is our duty to place the welfare of all of our patients above all else, and it is our responsibility as health care leaders to set the appropriate standard.

It is estimated that less than 70 percent of our employees and students are fully vaccinated. About 50% of you have been vaccinated at UMMC and I’m assuming some have been vaccinated elsewhere. We must do all we can to move as close as possible to a 100% vaccination rate. I believe we must achieve that! After all, we specialize in doing what others deem difficult.

The new policy is in line with our vision of providing high-quality clinical care that’s keenly focused on the best interests and safety of all patients. My years working in the ED proved to me that we must treat all patients as “at risk” and take necessary precautions to provide the safest care possible.

This new policy is about more than patient-centered care – although that is paramount and a core value – it is also about doing what’s right for the safety of our colleagues, our families and our communities.

Regardless of virus variants, vaccination is the best way to keep ourselves and those around us protected. Research has proven that vaccines are safe and are essential if we are to turn the tide against this deadly disease. They are the most effective way to limit spread of the virus and lessen the chance for hospitalization. (Answers to many frequently asked questions about the vaccine can be found here.)

During the last 16 months, we have seen the difference vaccinations have made in the number of new cases, deaths, hospitalized patients and ICU patients with COVID-19.  

Our state has one of the lowest percentages of fully vaccinated citizens in the country. I want that to change, and it starts with us. We should be the leaders that Mississippians can look to for guidance and inspiration.

In a recent Facebook post, Gov. Tate Reeves said, “The vaccines are safe and effective and are an important part of our path beyond Covid.” Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann has been a proponent of vaccination at every opportunity. And of course, State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs has been beating the “get the shot” drum as soon as it became available. We need to support our state leaders who are asking more Mississippians to get vaccinated.

If you’ve already been vaccinated or if you have your vaccination appointment set, thank you! I urge you to encourage your family and friends to join you and #TakeTheShot.

Since the beginning of this pandemic, you have been on the frontlines battling the ravages of this disease, and you absolutely never wavered. We are again asking you to step up and lead the charge toward A Healthier (Vaccinated!) Mississippi.