Becker's Hospital Review

43 FINANCE CMO / CARE DELIVERY Staff at hospitals in DC, Texas turn down COVID-19 vaccine By Ayla Ellison M any employees at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C., have reservations about tak- ing the COVID-19 vaccine, and CEO Anita Jen- kins is trying to get workers to follow her lead by getting vaccinated, CNN reported Dec. 21. e hospital, a major healthcare provider for the Black community, received 725 doses of the Pfizer vaccine Dec. 15. As of Dec. 18, only about 600 of the hospital's 1,900 employees had signed up for the shots, according to Kaiser Health News. "ere is a high level of mistrust and I get it," Ms. Jenkins told Kaiser Health News. "People are genuinely afraid of the vaccine." e vaccination numbers, though low, still exceeded ex- pectations, Ms. Jenkins told CNN. An internal hospital survey of about 350 employees in early November showed that 70 percent were not willing to take the COVID-19 vaccine or would not take it immediately aer it became available. Ms. Jenkins received the shot Dec. 15 in hopes of inspiring staff to get vaccinated. She's part of a widespread effort by healthcare experts and community leaders to combat vac- cine hesitancy among Black Americans. About 35 percent of Black Americans said they probably or definitely would not get the vaccine if it was determined to be safe by sci- entists and widely available for free, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation study cited by CNN. Howard University Hospital isn't the only healthcare pro- vider with workers who turned down the vaccine. At Doc- tors Hospital at Renaissance in Edinburg, Texas, so many workers declined the COVID-19 vaccine that the hospital offered doses to other medical workers in the region, ac- cording to ProPublica. e hospital received 5,850 doses of the vaccine, and it quickly became clear that not enough people eligible for the vaccine, like staff who work directly with COVID-19 patients, were opting to get it, DHR Health CMO Robert Martinez, MD, told ProPublica. "You start to see similar numbers across the country, all this mistrust and misinformation," Dr. Martinez said. Aer the first day of distribution, DHR reached out to oth- er hospitals and healthcare facilities in the region to offer doses of the vaccine. ProPublica reported that the vaccine ended up going to non-medical personnel as well, includ- ing state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. He told ProPublica he was invited to take the vaccine by DHR aer officials explained to him that all eligible workers who wanted the vaccine received it. n Memorial Sloan Kettering paid $1.5M severance to CMO forced out over disclosure failures By Molly Gamble M emorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center has paid more than $1.5 million in severance to its former CMO, who resigned in 2018 after he did not disclose financial ties to healthcare companies in research papers he authored, ac- cording to The New York Times. IRS filings show the New York City hospital paid the severance to José Baselga, MD, PhD, in 2018 and 2019. A spokesperson for the hospital told the Times that payments reflect its "contractu- al obligation" to Dr. Baselga under his employment agreement. The hospital would not say whether it paid additional severance to Dr. Baselga in 2020. Dr. Baselga resigned in September 2018, shortly after an analysis by the Times and ProPublica revealed how he failed to disclose significant financial relationships in the industry in more than 100 papers he authored in the previous five years. The omissions re- portedly included payments totaling millions of dollars. At the time, he said the lapses in disclosure were unintentional and that his industry work was known among the public. The incident prompted Memorial Sloan Kettering to change its conflict-of-interest policy, barring executives from serving on cor- porate boards of drug and healthcare companies. Drug manufacturer AstraZeneca hired Dr. Baselga in 2019 to head its oncology research and development unit. n Nurses: The most trusted professionals in America By Erica Carbajal A mericans rated nurses as the most honest and ethical pro- fessionals for the 19th consecutive year, according to an annual Gallup poll released Dec. 22. A record high 89 percent of respondents gave nurses a "high" or "very high" honesty and ethics score, marking a 4 percentage point increase from the poll released in 2019. Physicians were the second highest-rated professionals, with a 77 percent rating. "Nurses have been tested in every way imaginable during 2020," said Ernest Grant, RN, PhD, president of the American Nurses As- sociation. "The world watched as nurses lost numerous patients and colleagues to a highly communicable, deadly virus while trying to protect and preserve their communities with limited re- sources and support. Therefore, nurses are undoubtedly deserv- ing of the public's unwavering trust." Grade-school teachers were the third highest-rated profession- als, with a 75 percent honesty and ethics score. Pharmacists were fourth with a score of 71 percent. n

• Cover