Tidelands Health requiring employees, providers, volunteers to get COVID-19 vaccine

MURRELLS INLET, S.C. (WMBF) – Tidelands Health officials announced Friday they will mandate COVID-19 vaccination for all employees, employed providers, volunteers, learners and contractors as part of their “Safe In Our Care” commitment.

According to a press release, Tidelands Health is the second health system in South Carolina to mandate the vaccine for team members, after MUSC Health implemented the requirement earlier this year.

“The majority of our employee and physician partners, including more than 90 percent of employed physicians, have already received the safe, effective COVID-19 vaccine,” Gayle Resetar, chief operating officer, said. “It is our responsibility to our patients and to each other to move to a fully vaccinated workforce.

Tidelands Health team members have until Sept. 7 to comply with the vaccine requirement, the release stated. An attestation and declination process has been established for individuals who cannot receive the vaccine for medical or religious reasons.

Individuals who have previously tested positive for COVID-19 may also choose to decline the vaccine, health system officials said. Team members who are not in compliance with the vaccine requirement by the deadline will be discharged from employment.

Tidelands Health joins a growing number of health systems across the country that have mandated COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment, according to the release. Officials said mandatory vaccination for health care workers is supported by leading health care organizations, including the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America and the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.

Influenza vaccination has been a condition of employment at Tidelands Health for more than a decade, the release stated.

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