Providence Health & Services gave earlier access to prestigious COVID-19 vaccines to some members of the Oregon Government and Founding Councils in December and January.
Lisa Vance, CEO of Providence Oregon, said the practice amounts to ‘preferential treatment’ for inner circles, some of whom are also donors.
The Oregon health authority said Providence’s actions did not meet state guidelines for initial vaccine distribution.
“The vaccination of hospital administrators, managers, administrators, board members and other staff who do not have the greatest potential for direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials is not in line with Phase 1a guidance,” said Jonathan Modie, spokesman for the Oregon, said. Health Authority.
Providence’s dubious vaccines were small and occurred largely at facilities outside Portland. According to Providence, some cases involved doses that almost expired and had to be injected that day. However, they asked the organization to launch a review of its policies and procedures.
Providence operates eight hospitals in Oregon, making it the largest health care system in the state. It was founded by Catholic nuns and Providence often refers to its individual hospitals and other businesses as ‘ministries’.
“While our ministries have acted in good faith and acted with the best of intentions, we believe we must ensure that our decisions are fully in line with our values, especially our value of justice,” Vance said. “We hold ourselves accountable for ensuring fairness in everything we serve. We are taking steps to do this going forward, including working with our partners in all of our community clinics. ”
Providence’s senior executives in Oregon and all 17 members of the nonprofit governing body – the Oregon Community Ministry Board – were vaccinated weeks ago. Providence insists the vaccines for managers and its governing members were in line with state rules because they qualify as administrative or volunteer personnel under Oregon’s broad definition of health care workers.
The implementation of the much anticipated vaccines was difficult in Oregon and most of the rest of the country. The continuing shortage of vaccines has sparked an intense debate over how to prioritize access to life-saving shots.
State regulators have put together a detailed plan for the succession of vaccinations with health workers who have the real risk of contracting the virus at the front of the line classified as 1a.
Oregon has put health workers at the forefront under the state’s vaccination plan.
Providence offered the vaccine to all 27,000 Oregon employees and medical staff in December. Only 70% accepted the offer. The others turned down the vaccine or said they would prefer to wait until more is known about its safety, Providence spokeswoman Gary Walker said.
Among those who accepted the vaccine were Vance, chief operating officer William Olson and most of the senior executives of Providence Oregon.
All 17 members of the governing body also received the vaccine in December or early January.
Providence alleges that he did nothing wrong in offering early vaccinations to the directors and members of the board. This points to the state’s broad definition of qualifying health worker, which includes ‘administrative’ and ‘volunteer’ staff, in addition to the nurses and doctors working in the COVID departments.
Providence interprets ‘administratively’ to include all its managers, no matter how much time, if any, they actually care for patients.
The Oregon Health Authority said Providence’s interpretation was incorrect.
‘With the shortage of Pfizer and Modern vaccines, they need to ensure that these scarce resources are administered only to individuals who are eligible to receive them – and this means only staff who have the greatest potential for direct or indirect patient exposure or infectious materials, ”said Modie, a spokesman for the health authority.
However, Modie said the state does not foresee that the provision of the Provision will be terminated. He said the health authority expects suppliers to take responsibility and allocate vaccines in the right way.
‘We ask people who work or volunteer in healthcare, or serve as board members, to do the right thing: if you do not put the risk of direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials, you are unlikely to participate out of phase 1a, you are not eligible, and you have to wait your turn to be vaccinated, ”said Modie.
Deliveries similar to Providence have sparked controversy across the country. The Seattle Times reported that three medical systems in the region, including Providence Medical Center in Everett, gave special vaccines to major donors or members of the foundation.
Earlier this week, Washington warned that it could reduce the allocation of vaccines to organizations that offer VIP access.
In southern Oregon, the medical center of Providence Medford distributes the vaccine. Members of the local Providence Foundation council were quietly given the opportunity to sit on a vaccine waiting list. They will be called in to receive the vaccine if the hospital ends the day with an overdose.
Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines must be kept at very cold temperatures and cannot be frozen again after thawing.
The hospital thaws a certain number of doses each day based on the number of appointments they receive. If the patient does not show up, he should immediately find a replacement or discard the dose when it expires at the end of the day.
Providence officials said they were not sure how many insiders in Medford accepted the offer and got the chance.
On the coast, Providence Seaside Hospital offers vaccines to both the community council and the founding council. Six of the board members accepted the offer and shot early.
Providence’s Vance did not know about the arrangements at Medford or Seaside and would have objected to them, according to Providence spokesman Gary Walker.
Providence has 10 foundations in Oregon, including the organizations in Medford and Seaside. Between them, they raised nearly $ 54 million in 2019.
Almost by definition, board members of foundations are also great donors.
“There’s definitely a long tradition of asking board members to donate a lot of money,” said Jeri Alcock, partner and senior consultant at Rose City Philanthropy in Portland.
All philanthropic boards should also have conflict of interest rules in their books, Alcock added.
“The point of management is that you are a disinterested third party,” the consultant said. “You can not benefit from it.”
Providers initially maintained that it complied with all of Oregon’s vaccine administration rules.
“Providence Oregon did not give any preferential treatment to donors in the COVID vaccination process,” the health system said in an email on Feb. 1. “We are acting in good faith and adapting our actions with the guidance of the Oregon Health Authority.”
Two days later, Providence supported the view, conceding that some insiders had indeed gained preferential access.
Across the country, 369,693 people received at least one dose of the vaccine, about 8.6% of Oregon’s population.
Jeff Manning
971-263-5164