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SEIU Healthcare slams city for withholding vaccines from hospital

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Illinois

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration cut off the flow of COVID-19 vaccines to the West Side’s Loretto Hospital on Thursday, hours after hospital administrators admitted for the second time this week that they made “mistakes” in allowing people who were not eligible yet to have access to vaccines.

Loretto admitted Thursday it made a mistake — its second admission in a week — after WBEZ reported that 13 Cook County Circuit Court judges were given the opportunity to get coronavirus vaccines at the hospital in the Austin neighborhood on March 8.

It followed Loretto’s mea culpa after Block Club Chicago first revealed that the health-care provider wrongly gave COVID-19 vaccines to workers at the Trump Tower in downtown Chicago, far from the hospital that serves mostly Black and low-income patients on the West Side.

The hospital promised to prevent a repeat of those scenarios, but it was apparently too late to avert the city’s dramatic response to the alleged favoritism in vaccinations by Loretto. […]

On Thursday, though, Loretto’s president and CEO, George Miller, issued a statement erroneously claiming that judges were allowed to get vaccines under a section of phase 1b in the city of Chicago’s “vaccination plan,” which allows for shots to go now to city elected officials.

In fact, city Public Health Department officials confirmed that the ongoing phase 1b does not include judges. Being a judge alone will not make someone eligible for COVID-19 shots until the next phase, which begins March 29.

So, aldermen can be vaxed, but not judges. Seems odd.

* SEIU Healthcare Illinois President Greg Kelley…

“While we understand the need to ensure that vaccine protocols are followed, as the union of frontline healthcare workers putting their lives on the line at Loretto Hospital and other facilities across the city, we strongly object the decision by the Chicago Department of Public Health to withhold vaccine doses from a safety net serving high-risk and underserved, majority black and brown communities.

“Instead, we call upon the Board of Directors to hold the individuals responsible for breaking vaccine protocols accountable. The dedicated frontline staff of Loretto and the Austin residents dependent upon Loretto in order to receive life-saving COVID-19 vaccinations don’t deserve to suffer as a result of the actions of two people.

“The vaccination program at Loretto, administered by its frontline staff, has already successfully vaccinated 90% of the hospital’s workforce and conducted crucial vaccine outreach to the community as part of the Chicago Plus program.

“Workers at Loretto have already sacrificed enough in their frontline roles at a safety net hospital in the high-needs Austin community during a pandemic. It’s crucial that the Board limit their corrective action to the two individuals responsible for this lapse in judgment–and not punish workers and the community they serve.”

Thoughts?

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 6:25 am

Comments

When gotcha reporting goes wrong?

Comment by Observations Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 6:28 am
Stop it lori. You are the first to champion causes for disproportionately effected communities and now you are with holding a vital resource to a disproportionately effected community in a time when you are asking for more participation in the vaccine program from that very community all because of a grudge you hold against trump. Stop it .

Comment by Masker Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 7:05 am
My big question is whether some other entity on the west side is filling Loretto’s role while they are cut off. I think SEIU makes good points, but I fear the two incidents we’ve heard about are just the two incidents we’ve heard about.

Comment by Montrose Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 7:24 am
How many other places are cheating but are going unpunished by CDPH?

Comment by Precinct Captain Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 7:50 am
I thought the point of the whole exercise was to get “needles in arms”?
Cutting them off completely seems kind of counter-productive.

Comment by Bruce( no not him) Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 7:59 am
How many people in Austin are going to get sick and possibly die because some guy on their board lives in Trump Tower?

Comment by Cheryl44 Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 8:14 am
judges, their spouse or another person of their choosing were given vaccines ahead of everyone else. names should be exposed. and worse still, the Trump workers get ahead in line. yet another instance where multiple entities providing vaccines creates confusion and opportunities for this kind of cheating.

Comment by Amalia Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 8:17 am
Criminal court judges should absolutely be near the front of vaccination line. They and other courthouse personnel come in contact with incarcerated individuals on a regular basis. We know how the virus is contracted and spread in congregate settings like jails and prisons. That being said, the spouse of a judge who works in the civil courts at the Daley Center should not be prioritized.

Comment by Roman Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 8:19 am
The solution here seems simple - fire the CEO and the COO, and resume Covid vaccine shipments to the hospital.

Comment by ChicagoVinny Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 8:27 am
– worse still, the Trump workers get ahead in line –

Why was it worse for *workers* at the Trump building to get the vaccine out of line, then it was for *judges and their spouses?*

(This question doesn’t apply to Eric Trump. But he is still only one man.)

As before: It’s hard to take seriously anyone seriously when they say they want the pandemic and its associated special government powers and restrictions to end, when those same people do so much to restrict access to the one tool that will actually, you know, *end the pandemic.*

Comment by JB13 Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 8:37 am
Great statement, and right on the mark in terms of the Board of Directors fulfilling their responsibilities immediately so the hospital can get vaccines to administer once again.

Comment by Earnest Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 8:50 am
Another unforced error by Mayor Lightfoot. Send a monitor to verify the hospital is following protocol, don’t withhold vaccines. Dumb.

Comment by Excitable Boy Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 8:52 am
I bet there is some way to punish the people who made the decision without, say, punishing the community that Loretto Hospital serves because of the decisions that was made by leadership.

Comment by Candy Dogood Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 9:01 am
I can’t wait for vaccine shaming to end in 2-3 weeks. We all need this vaccine to end this pandemic. It’s past time we stop gatekeeping for it.

Comment by Hot Taeks Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 9:02 am
My initial reaction is similar to Excitable Boy, “send a monitor” to oversee protocol, review/suggest remedies on how protocol was circumvented, and for appropriate “punishment” to the individuals responsible for the error in judgement. There a few things that come with “a monitor”, though. To be effective, it usually involves more than one person. Then, who staffs this monitor team? Existing Chicago staff or do they contract it out to a third party? Also with additional oversight comes lag in process and time to setup the oversight.

Very soon, they’ll need more vaccination sites, not less. Perhaps if Loretto issued more than a “mea culpa” it would go a long way to restoring Chicago’s faith in them being a team player and fully serving their immediate community.

Comment by From DaZoo Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 9:18 am
===My big question is whether some other entity on the west side is filling Loretto’s role while they are cut off. ====

There are other hospitals administering vaccines, issue is that Loretto is in Austin, while Mt. Sinai, St. Anthony and Lawndale Christian Health Center are in North Lawndale (which is not a trivial geographical distance), and they are already struggling to meet demand.

Furthermore, Loretto is operating a mass vaccination site at Amudsen Park, so I wonder how that’s affected by the city’s decision

Comment by Strannik Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 9:25 am
== So, aldermen can be vaxed, but not judges. Seems odd. ==

Yep. There seems to be a lot of selective outrage about who gets vaccinated. Congress members and alderman get jabs and no one bats an eye. But judges (some of whom are at much greater risk because of contact with inmates) get a shot and it’s a scandal?

Comment by Telly Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 9:32 am
Mayor Lightfoot looks petty and vindictive. Geez, think this through, Lori. I agree with Candy that “punishing” Loretto punishes the community they serve more than the few people who may have gotten shots out of line. Do we want this pandemic to be over or not?

Comment by Responsa Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 9:32 am
Wrong decision, Lori. Should there be some form of sanction? Yes, but withholding vaccines from people who actually need them isn’t it.

The judge thing is weird. I’m curious how Marsalek got the offer, and how she chose which judges she would loop in. At first I thought it might be the judges in her division, but there are more than 13.

Comment by JoanP Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 9:41 am
I know that there need to be rules in place to keep vaccinations going in arms in an orderly fashion and to help prioritize getting it to those that need it most, but in this case I’m not seeing the outrage. Hotel workers and judges have both been essential workers during this pandemic, it’s not like these shots are going to wealthy retirees that just want to be able to sip their mimosas at the yacht club with their friends. Unless the hospital is turning away the underserved Black and low-income people that want shots and then giving said shots to hotel workers and judges, the punishment is not fitting of the so called crime. I know of two counties, one in west central IL and one in southern IL who have opened up to vaccinating anyone in Illinois who wants a shot now because they have already vaccinated all of their counties residents who want a vaccine and they have excess supply. I too will be happy when vaccine shaming stops and the focus is more on getting shots to people who want them as quick as possible.

Comment by EssentialWorkingMom Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 9:42 am
That is a weird priority. I would have prioritized judges and court workers so we could at least get our judicial system working on all thrusters again.

And I would not have pulled vaccine from the hospital. Sanctioned them in some other way, perhaps, but not taken the possibility of folks in the neighborhood from getting their shots.

Comment by cermak_rd Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 9:48 am
Like I said, those were just the two we knew about.

https://blockclubchicago.org/2021/03/19/loretto-hospital-vaccinated-ceos-suburban-church-while-west-siders-were-calling-daily-for-shots/

Comment by Montrose Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 10:05 am
well, it’s one way to get a favorable view from judges. which is why things have to be disclosed. certainly a judge would disclose on the record that they have a conflict if a case from this hospital comes before them even if they do not disclose that they got the shot early.. and given this hospital, cases could be out there.

Comment by Amalia Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 10:11 am
Anyone cheating should just get a bill

Comment by Rabid Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 10:14 am
They have to use up vaccines in a short time after thawing it out. They end up with no-shows and have the option of dumping it down the drain or giving it out to anyone who is available, even if they are not on Lightfoot’s preferred list. The hospital probably saw they were going to have leftover vaccine and called someone at the court system.

Comment by DuPage Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 10:51 am
The brunt of the punishment should be felt by the hospital leadership, not the people being served by the hospital.

Even worse, the amount of time and effort required to prop up a new site or adjust dose allocations will just put additional stress on the public health department, hurting the city as a whole.

The mayor has a stick and carrot problem and an ability to grasp who is feeling the pain at the end of the stick when she (frequently) uses it.

Comment by Served Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 11:20 am
= The hospital probably saw they were going to have leftover vaccine and called someone at the court system. =

Why call “someone at the court system”? In any case, it appears there were at least two hours between the time Marsalek was notified and the time people had to be there. Plenty of time for Loretto to contact people they serve.

Comment by JoanP Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 11:35 am
Many clinics are giving leftover doses on a first come/first serve basis to any random person who presents at the critical time. Often by a wait list. Which is better than wasting a shot and doesn’t raise any issues of preferential treatment.
Calling the judges is using the vax for clout. As far as the criminal courts, some judges may have qualified under 1b for a worker providing in-person support or services to those incarcerated. I think public defenders and states attorneys may have fallen under that instead of waiting until the general legal in 1c.

Comment by skeptic Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 1:15 pm
we are in a whole different territory now with the revelation that the CEO had 200 some people vaccinated at his suburban church in February. He’s the head of this hospital and on multiple levels the entire operation there is ridiculous. Insider vaccinating.

Comment by Amalia Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 1:24 pm
They’re also reporting that they vaccinated the CEO’s church.

Objectively speaking I feel like no you should not stop delivering to them, but this is actually too much.

Comment by Nick Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 3:11 pm
This is my neighborhood hospital. It’s always been kinda terrible. I went there for primary care before transferring elsewhere, it’s by no means the best run place.

To the person saying they probably had leftover shots, they regularly have a line out the door for people waiting to get vaccinated, there is no lack for people ready to get one, I doubt they have extra.

Comment by Art Grad Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 4:13 pm