While several employees rallied and pleaded against the measure, Ector County Hospital board voted 4-3 to comply with a mandate that requires its hospital employees to be vaccinated against Covid-19 or lose millions in federal funding.
CEO of Medical Center Hospital, Russell Tippin, stated that roughly 65% of its staff is fully vaccinated and those that are not vaccinated have until January 5 to be fully vaccinated or have an exemption approved by a hospital committee. The deadline to file an exemption is November 23rd, less than a week away. Tippin stated that he had some 2000 plus employees that needed to be vaccinated by the deadline or the hospital could face the possibility of decreasing the number of procedures it schedules to half the normal schedule.
Federal funding for Medical Center Hospital was also placed in jeopardy recently by a hospital policy. The policy drafted more than a year ago instructed hospital employees to place bags over certain Covid patients heads. A photo that went viral shows a 16 year old girl, wearing a mask, with an equipment cover bag over her head and extended down around her waist. She can be seen appearing defeated looking down holding an oxygen hose in her hand. The girl complained of having trouble breathing for more than 30 minutes but was told the mask and bag had to stay in place. The nurse admitted to having forgotten to attach the hose to the oxygen supply. The young girl was later admitted to ICU with oxygen levels in the mid 80’s. She was instructed to save the bag and reuse it throughout her stay. Each time she was taken from her room the bag was placed over her head. This has caused her severe anxiety, PTSD and shame. The 16 year old honor roll student who was very active in school activities found herself unable to tolerate crowds and was forced to withdraw from school. The once outgoing teen is now a recluse spending many hours alone in her room. The mother stated that she could never have imagined a short term ordeal would cause her daughter such long term anxiety. Through support and counseling her mother hopes she will make a full recovery. A complaint was filed with the Texas Department of State Health Services.