Jacob Ogles
Frontline health care workers were the first in Florida to receive COVID-19 vaccines. But Rep. Vern Buchanan said many hospice workers were left out.
The Sarasota Republican on Wednesday sent a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis demanding these providers be included in vaccine distribution.
“According to the Florida Hospice and Palliative Care Association, a majority of our state’s 20,000 frontline hospice workers have been unable to receive the vaccine to date,” Buchanan wrote. “This is not only concerning for the safety of these critical care workers, their loved ones and the already vulnerable patients they serve, but could also serve as a significant barrier to essential health care services for those in need.”
Buchanan’s letter explains that unlike nurses working in hospitals or doctor’s offices, caregivers in hospice facilities don’t all have a singular place of employment.
“Despite the important role they play and officially being deemed ‘essential’ by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, many hospice workers have found it difficult to gain access to the coronavirus vaccine, at least in part because they do not work from a single centralized location,” Buchanan wrote. “Unlike doctors and nurses, hospice employees care for patients in a variety of different settings including people’s homes, assisted living facilities and nursing homes.”
That means there’s also an increased risk of exposure to the coronavirus. DeSantis has made a priority of vaccinating nursing home residents and staff, but many hospice workers in those environments don’t fall into those categories.
Infected hospice workers can also end up spreading the virus to individuals already suffering from terminal conditions, and it could force them into quarantine from families during their final days.
“All of our state’s brave health care workers have been working tirelessly on the front of the Coronavirus pandemic and deserve timely access to a safe and effective vaccine,” Buchanan wrote.
The COVID-19 crisis has touched Buchanan’s office directly. Long-time Buchanan aide Gary Tibbetts died in July from the virus, the first Congressional staffer claimed by the pandemic.
Buchanan served in the U.S. House with DeSantis from 2013 to 2018.
