GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) - Spectrum Health, a 14-hospital network in western Michigan, said Wednesday it will mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for employees, volunteers, and contractors — becoming at least the third hospital system in the state to announce the requirement.
Grand Rapids-based Spectrum, which has 31,000 employees, joins the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit and Livonia-based Trinity Health. About 70% of Spectrum’s onsite staff are vaccinated, a spokesman said.
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"We must do all we can to take care of each other and our community," president and CEO Tina Freese Decker said in a statement that cited the coronavirus vaccines’ effectiveness in reducing the risk of hospitalization, death, and long-haul symptoms. "Together, our actions will serve to save lives and shorten the impact of the pandemic — both clear benefits to the public good."