Here & Now

The COVID Backlash in Rural Health Care

Frederica Freyberg:

Whereas some might have thought COVID-19 was on the retreat, cases, hospitalizations and deaths are on the rise in Wisconsin, with seven-day average case counts above 2500 and daily deaths in the double digits. Eight counties in Wisconsin now have critically high numbers of COVID cases according to state health data. Six of those counties are in the northwest part of the state. Health care providers have been on the front lines of the pandemic for more than a year and a half and still there is resistance to wearing masks and getting vaccines. The CEO of Marshfield Clinic, a provider across mostly rural Wisconsin, has lamented the backlash over COVID mitigation. Susan Turney joins us now from Marshfield. Thanks very much for being here.

Susan Turney:

Thank you very much for having us.

Frederica Freyberg:

Was the backlash mostly around your mandate that staff be vaccinated?

Susan Turney:

You know, I would say that we’ve had many challenges during COVID, and the issue about vaccination has certainly created controversy. You know, we have seen some very, very strong vaccine resistance in our service area, including some of our employees. We did, as you just stated, mandate the vaccine for all of our health system staff, and it drew backlash from not just some of our employees, but also from some of our community members. And it’s not unique to us. Health systems and hospitals across Wisconsin are really facing the same type of backlash. And I would say that as a — for us as a health care system, mandating the vaccine was really a simple decision. Our values demand that we do what is best for our patients. We know that we are committed to excellence. So we also want to live our mission, which is to enrich lives. So when we can’t really approach living to those ideals that we have in place if we have an unvaccinated population. So our patients depend on us. They want and they deserve to come to a facility that does everything in its power to keep them and their families safe. So I’m proud to say that most of our 10,000 employees and all of our physicians have been vaccinated. We are at about 99% plus rate right now for all of our staff who have complied with our requirement. Our deadline is next Monday, and on that date I suspect we will have a small number of people who do choose to not comply with our requirement. It’s unfortunate, but we are prepared and I believe that we are in a good position to continue to do what we do best, which is take care of patients in our communities and provide high-quality care.

Frederica Freyberg:

And I’m assuming that when you say that you are prepared when that deadline happens to have to let people go that do not comply with getting vaccinated?

Susan Turney:

Yes. There may be a few people that don’t comply and will be asked to leave the organization. And it’s unfortunate, but, again, living up to our mission and standing on our values and knowing what we need to do to best serve our patients and our staff and our communities, that’s what would happen.

Frederica Freyberg:

Now, I know that you’ve described what you experienced there at your health system as backlash, but there were literally protests outside your clinic?

Susan Turney:

You know, we did have some protests in some of our communities, and we also had staff that were harassed when they were walking to their cars in the parking lot. And, you know, we are doing what we can to protect our staff, protect our patients in this environment. So it has certainly added to the stress that our staff has felt during this pandemic as we all know that the pandemic has taken truly an extreme trial on all of our workforce.

Frederica Freyberg:

Absolutely. So in the midst of all of this, what is your reaction to these counties with critically high COVID case counts right now?

Susan Turney:

Well, you know, we do serve a very rural population and we know that there are counties in our service area that have lower vaccination rates than other parts of the state. However, we are here to serve our patients and we will take care of patients. We have a multipronged approach. Obviously we want to encourage our patients to be vaccinated. We have a lot of information available to them and we will also speak with them if that would help them understand the benefits of the vaccination. Yet people are going to get sick. The rate of people getting sick without a vaccination is much higher than those who have been vaccinated. But we will take care of our patients. That’s what we do and it’s very important that we continue to honor our commitment to patient care.

Frederica Freyberg:

And as to your staff and how people have weathered this fatigue and burn-out as it’s been described, what is your message to those of you in the health care system on the front lines?

Susan Turney:

You know, I wish there were a single message, because I think the message would be let’s have hope that we will get through this and come out on the other end in a better place. And I believe there is truth to that. Yet, I’ve already said the pandemic really has taken an extreme toll on our workforce. They’re exhausted from fighting the pandemic for two years now. We have oftentimes been short-staffed because people have been sick or they’re working extra shifts already or they’re taking care of family members who have been sick. These work-related challenges are immense. And being a rural health care provider, we’ve had challenges that predated COVID, predated the pandemic. Many areas in the country with rural health that are in rural health care had already experienced a crisis with hospital closures, shortages of work staff. So we’re trying to fight the unique strain that this has brought to us and helping our staff if there are mental health issues, if there are financial issues, if there are child care issues. We’re trying to meet their needs the best we can. And, again, I think hope is the word that we need to think about. We have hope that this will be better.

Frederica Freyberg:

Dr. Turney, thank you very much and thank you for your work.

Susan Turney:

Thank you. I appreciate it. Have a good day.