Becker's Hospital Review

24 POPULATION HEALTH 24 CEO / STRATEGY Northwell CEO: Vaccination mandates work By Molly Gamble A er shedding about 2 percent of its workforce, New Hyde Park, N.Y.- based Northwell Health is 100 percent vaccinated against COVID-19 and doesn't expect disruption to services. Northwell announced its vaccination mandate Aug. 2, and the state of New York followed shortly aer, rolling out its requirement for healthcare workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 on Aug. 16. Northwell synced its deadline to that of the state: Sept. 27. Northwell took a tiered approach, first requir- ing vaccination for new hires, students, volun- teers and vendors. By Sept. 27, 1,400 unvac- cinated employees exited the system aer not complying with the mandate. at amounts to less than 2 percent of its entire workforce. "Mandates work," Northwell CEO Michael Dowling told Becker's. "My HR staff did a terrific job," Mr. Dowling said. He described the rollout of the system- wide COVID-19 vaccination mandate as "unbelievably time-consuming," including one-on-one meetings with each unvaccinat- ed employee to answer questions or address their concerns. e 23-hospital system also analyzed each individual department's staff- ing, vaccination rates and attitudes toward vaccination to understand the implications of the mandate and prepare accordingly ahead of the deadline. Mr. Dowling said the change poses no dis- ruption because Northwell is ramping up its hiring, reassigning employees throughout the system and using agency staffing and over- time. "We'll never get to the point where we need to shut down a program," he told Beck- er's. e system hired 220 people the week of Oct. 4 and is ready to maintain that pace and hire 250 on a weekly basis. It remains to be seen where unvaccinated healthcare professionals in New York state will go for employment. "I do assume some of the people who have separated from the organization may very well reconsider," Mr. Dowling said. "Your choices will be limited if you want to stay in health- care." He noted that Northwell will meet with any workers who le the system unvaccinat- ed but receive shots against COVID-19 in the days ahead and conduct an interview process for rehiring. Sandra Lindsay, RN, director of nursing crit- ical care at Northwell's Long Island Jewish Medical Center, was the first American to receive the COVID-19 vaccine Dec. 14, 2020. Mr. Dowling recalled the anticipation for the vaccine throughout 2020, and said he did not anticipate that there would ever be so much controversy over its use in healthcare. "You would have assumed people who work in healthcare would easily come to the conclusion that if you are going to take care of patients, irrespective of circumstances, you should be vaccinated against a virus that is deadly," he told Becker's. "Ninety-eight percent of people understood that. Ninety-eight percent said it's the right thing to do. For the others, they made the choice they aren't going to do it. at's up- setting. I didn't terminate anybody, they decid- ed they didn't want to work in an organization with these requirements." Mr. Dowling encourages his colleagues who are rolling out similar mandates at hospitals and health systems to keep their priorities in check. "Your core job is to protect patient care. en everything else that has to be done is to ac- commodate that goal," he said. "Roll it out over time, in an organized way, and be ready to accept the criticism, controversy and demon- strations. But know you did the right thing." n "Roll it out over time, in an organized way, and be ready to accept the criticism, controversy and demonstrations. But know you did the right thing." Michael Dowling, Northwell Health Walgreens looking to healthcare to drive growth By Georgina Gonzalez W algreens Boots Alliance CEO Roz Brewer has shared that the company plans to further expand into healthcare in an effort to turn it into a "new growth engine," CNBC reported Oct. 14. The nearly 9,000 stores nationwide will become places for customers to get medical advice and attend physician ap- pointments. The company invested in VillageMD, a prima- ry care company that will run the clinics inside Walgreens stores. By the end of the year, Village Medical at Walgreens will be present in 85 stores. By 2027, it plans to have 1,000 clinics in more than 30 U.S. markets, over half of which will be in medically underserved communities. "This new Walgreens Health will make a difference and will begin to transform us away from retail and just dispensing pharmaceuticals," Ms. Brewer told CNBC. The trajectory of Walgreens looks similar to that of major rival CVS Health. However, CVS acquired Aetna, meaning it is also an insurance provider. Walgreens CFO James Kehoe said that this lack of insurance company may benefit Wal- greens by making it payer-neutral, allowing it to focus solely on improving health outcomes. Walgreens is beefing up its staff during a period of staff- ing shortages and supply-chain issues. Mr. Kehoe said that hiring medical professionals has been easier, though, as they are "believing in the vision" for Walgreens Health. n

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