NY Hospital Stops Baby Deliveries as Maternity Workers Quit Amid Vaccine Mandate

By Teddy Grant Published: September 14, 2021

NY Hospital Stops Baby Deliveries as Maternity Workers Quit Amid Vaccine Mandate

A heart-shaped balloon and a bouquet of roses adorn the bed of a man who died from COVID-19 at the ICU unit of the Shohadaye Tajrish Hospital in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, April 18, 2021. After facing criticism for downplaying the virus last year, authorities have put partial lockdowns and other measures in place to try and slow the coronavirus’ spread, as Iran faces what looks like its worst wave of the coronavirus pandemic yet. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

In Summary

A hospital in upstate New York has been forced to pause delivering babies after medical staff in the maternity unit resigned over the state’s vaccine requirements for healthcare workers.

A hospital in Lowville, New York, has placed a pause on deliveries of babies because an increased number of maternity unit employees have resigned over the state’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate, CNN reported.

“We are unable to safely staff the service after September 24. The number of resignations received leaves us no choice but to pause delivering babies at Lewis County General Hospital. It is my hope that the Department of Health will work with us in support of pausing the service rather than closing the maternity department,” Gerald Cayer, chief executive of the Lewis County Health System, said on Friday.

According to Cayer, 30 Lewis County Health System employees resigned from their jobs. Six of the resignations were in the hospital system’s maternity wards, according to CNN.

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that hospital and long-term care facility employees had to get at least one dose of the vaccine by September 27.

“Our vaccine vaccination rate is now 73% — 464 individuals in the health system are now vaccinated,” Cayer said. “165 employees are not yet vaccinated. And it is not clear what they will do.”

He added that unvaccinated people in other departments are putting those other departments at risk.

“Our hope is as we get closer, the numbers will increase of individuals who are vaccinated, fewer individuals will leave, and maybe with a little luck, some of those who have resigned will reconsider,” he said about what it would take to get the maternity unit back up and running.