Dignity Health gave the green light to Covid-positive employees to return to work amid a “critical staff crisis.”
“Due to the spread and impact of the COVID-19 omicron variant in Maricopa County, and in anticipation of an continued increase, Dignity Health facilities in Maricopa County have enacted the third tier of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for COVID-19 positive health care workers,” Dignity Health told St. Joseph Hospital staff in Phoenix, according ABC15. “These guidelines allow COVID-19 positive health care personnel who are asymptomatic or improving with mild symptoms to work without a quarantine period.
"We are doing everything we can to ensure our employees can safely return to work while protecting our patients and staff from the transmissibility of COVID-19," the statement continued. "The safety of our staff and patients is always our top priority; and we have tremendous gratitude for our dedicated care teams who have worked tirelessly to take care of our communities throughout the pandemic."
While the Covid-positive employees will be required to wear an N95 mask upon returning, one St. Joseph’s healthcare worker blasted the decision.
“These patients are the poorest, the sickest, and the most at risk. To have a healthcare worker who’s going to be dealing directly with these people, coming back coughing, which is exactly what’s been happening…really leaves you no faith in the company that you work for,” the employee told ABC15.
A similar policy went into effect in Rhode Island due to staffing shortages at healthcare facilities. The decision came months after hundreds of healthcare workers were fired over a vaccine mandate.