Texas Health Resources mandates vaccines; Parkland says it can’t because of governor’s order

The faith-based, nonprofit Texas Health Resources system announced Friday that its 23,000 employees must be fully vaccinated by September 10, making it the third major North Texas employer to enforce a mandatory requirement.

Meanwhile, the region’s largest public hospital, Parkland Health & Hospital System, said it agreed with the decisions of the other hospital systems but was constrained by Governor Greg Abbott’s executive order.

“The governor has issued an executive order banning public institutions from requiring a COVID vaccine while it is approved under an emergency permit. There are no exceptions for public hospitals like Parkland, ”said Mike Malaise, Parkland’s senior vice president of communications and external relations. “Parkland will continue to work to understand the full impact of the governor’s ordinance on vaccine mandates for public entities in Texas and use all methods available to us to achieve universal vaccination among our employees as soon as possible.”

Amid rising Delta COVID-19 cases in Texas, Abbott issued a far-reaching ordinance Thursday that doubles its mantra of personal responsibility. The ordinance essentially prohibits any future mask requirements by any government or public school system and prohibits vaccine requirements from any government or entity receiving public funding.

Vaccine mandates implemented by Texas Health, Baylor Scott & White Health, and Methodist Health System shed light on the divide between health care providers and some political leaders regarding the COVID-19 threat.

“As COVID-19 continues to spread through our communities, the need for vaccination is the responsible step forward,” said Barclay Berdan, CEO of Texas Health. “We are taking this proactive step as our community is facing increasing cases, largely due to low vaccination rates and the steep rise in the Delta variant.”

The new variant is 50% more transmissible than the original COVID-19 virus and, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, accounts for over 80% of current COVID-19 cases in the United States. In Texas, the variant accounts for almost 46% of the cases.

“This is no different from the mandate we have for the seasonal flu vaccine,” Berdan said in a video message.

Parkland also compared the COVID-19 vaccine mandate to the need for flu shots.

“We agree with the decision by the other major Dallas hospitals to prescribe the vaccine for their staff, just as we do for the flu every year,” said Malaise. “The vaccine mandate is designed to both protect employees and, importantly and often overlooked, protect our patients by limiting the potential for disease to spread on campus. … The vaccine is a tool we now have to reduce the risk to our patients and we believe that every healthcare worker should be obliged to take it to protect patients. “

The University of Texas’ Southwestern Medical Center, another major healthcare provider in Dallas, failed to respond to multiple requests for comments on its vaccine policy this week.

Over 70% of Texas Health employees are currently vaccinated, Berdan said. Texas Health, based in Arlington, has 27 hospitals and more than 350 facilities in North Texas.

Texas Health’s new policy differs from other local health care providers in that it gives workers a September 10 deadline, three weeks before the October 1 deadline set by Baylor Scott & White and Methodist. All three hospital systems say they will allow exemptions for medical and religious reasons after internal review.

Earlier this week, about 60 medical groups called on health systems to make syringes mandatory. More than 70 hospital systems nationwide have implemented vaccine mandates, according to an updated list from Becker’s Hospital Review.

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