Statement by Steve Ahnen, President, New Hampshire Hospital Association
August 20, 2021
Today, the Legislative Fiscal Committee approved federal COVID-19 relief funds for our Critical Access Hospitals. We are thankful for the favorable vote of the committee to move this forward.
During the consideration of the funding, a minority of members questioned the ability for hospitals to mandate vaccination of their healthcare workers. We believe that requiring vaccines of our workforce is absolutely the right thing to do to protect the health and safety of our patients, our workforce and our communities. All hospitals will make these determinations independently on when and how to implement a vaccine mandate policy and will do so in compliance with state and federal laws. The science and real-world data have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines, and truly are the path that will lead us out of the pandemic.
Fortunately, the majority of the Legislative Fiscal Committee passed this important provision. We applaud and thank those members that stood beside our hospital and health system heroes.
Download the statement here.