SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A nurse who refused to wear a surgical mask after receiving an exemption from a mandatory flu vaccination was fired for violating her hospital's policy.
Carla Brock, a board-certified holistic nurse who has worked 11 years at Cox South Hospital here, said she is speaking out because she believes her hospital's new requirement to wear a mask if a staffer opts out of the flu vaccine amounts to a scarlet letter. CoxHealth, which owns four hospitals in southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas, says it simply is putting the patient first.
"I love my job, and I loved the people I worked with," the pre-admissions nurse said. But "I have spiritual and religious reasons to not have those toxins in my body."
Mandated flu shots already are part of a national debate that pits employee rights against what some say is patient safety. Most recently, in December, an Indiana hospital fired eight employees who refused to get flu shots, according to ABC News.
Brock's situation adds another layer to the debate. This is the first year that CoxHealth employees are required either to get the vaccination or produce paperwork showing an exemption, according to Stacy Fender, media relations coordinator for CoxHealth. In the past, flu shots were strongly recommended.
In early September, Brock sought and was granted a religious exemption although she admits she's more "spiritual" than "religious."
"We jumped through the hoops," she said. "We did all the right things."
But CoxHealth's new policy also requires employees who receive an exemption to wear a surgical mask while working, which Brock did starting Dec. 31.
Plenty of people are fighting against the flu vaccin ..
