GREENWOOD VILLAGE, COLO. – Sept. 30, 2021 – Colorado Hospital Association and its member hospitals and health systems, along with Colorado’s long-term care facilities and the Colorado Health Care Association, share the Governor’s goal of providing safe patient care by ensuring all Colorado health care workers are vaccinated against COVID-19. As part of the Board of Health (BOH) mandate enacted on Aug. 30, today is the first of several deadlines requiring health care workers to become vaccinated or lose their jobs. Hospitals and long-term care facilities have worked tirelessly for the past four weeks, since the BOH issued its mandate, to ensure easy access for workers to be vaccinated.

Through a variety of stakeholder meetings these organizations have been working in good faith with CDPHE to make recommendations to the Board for its Oct. 21 meeting that will enable health care organizations to effectively operationalize this mandate while ensuring that access to critical health care services remains uninterrupted in our communities.

Throughout the course of this remarkably short implementation period, the department has shared repeatedly its intention to work collaboratively, not punitively with health care facilities to achieve compliance with the emergency rule by the end of October when health care workers must be fully vaccinated to remain employed. 

Our organizations appreciate this approach as we believe that enforcement of this mandate needs to be careful and thoughtful. Removing clinicians and other support staff in order to maintain compliance with the BOH rule will endanger patients, particularly when health care facilities in Colorado are already facing severe staffing shortages. In extreme cases, it may even mean closing a facility and eliminating health care in a Colorado community or town. By working together and proceeding carefully, we can ensure continued access to high quality health care for Coloradans.

About Colorado Hospital Association

Colorado Hospital Association (CHA) is the leading voice of Colorado’s hospital and health system community. Representing more than 100 member hospitals and health systems throughout the state, CHA serves as a trusted, credible, and reliable resource on health issues, hospital data and trends for its members, media, policymakers, and the general public. Through CHA, Colorado’s hospitals and health systems work together in their shared commitment to improve health and health care in Colorado. Learn more at www.cha.com.

About Colorado Health Care Association

The Colorado Health Care Association represents Nursing Home and Assisted Living Residences and exists to promote the provision of high quality long term care services for the citizens of Colorado. Learn more at www.cohca.org.

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