94 unvaccinated staff at Yale New Haven Health lose their jobs

NEW HAVEN — When it came down to the deadline, 94 people in the Yale New Haven Health System lost their jobs Monday because they didn’t get a COVID-19 vaccination.

“We did pretty well, I think, all things considered,” Dr. Ohm Deshpande, associate chief clinical office, said. “We’re at 94 at this moment who are subject to termination.” All 94 had been on suspension.

“They’re getting notified today that they’re being separated from the organization,” Deshpande said.

The number expected to be terminated had been at 225 a week ago, out of more than 28,000 employees. “Just over 700 have been granted exemptions,” Deshpande said. “Many more applied but not all of them received them. They’re the only ones who will get weekly testing.”

“I think in the last few days, people either got vaccinated or extremely delayed sent in their proof of vaccination,” Deshpande said. He said some may have gotten their shots at the last minute because they knew “we weren’t going to blink. In some ways it’s better than we expected.”

Deshpande said those who are being terminated can get back their jobs if they get their shots. “If they decide to get their vaccination we’ll welcome them back with open arms and we do have a number of vacancies,” he said.

Most of those who were let go are in nursing, food and nutrition and environmental services, Deshpande said.

On June 30, Yale New Haven Health, along with other hospital-based health systems in Connecticut, announced the vaccination mandate.

Yale New Haven Health includes Yale New Haven, Bridgeport and Greenwich hospitals, Lawrence and Memorial Hospital in New London and Westerly Hospital in Rhode Island, as well as the Northeast Medical Group of physicians’ practices.