and March , they were offering what they called the Hope Bonus of $ 500 to those who took the vaccine . It was basically bribery . To get the bonus you had to have those shots completed by a specific date in March . They didn ’ t come out and say it , but they hinted in an email that they were looking to mandate it , but it would be down the road , and most people thought it wouldn ’ t be mandated until it was at least FDA-approved later in the year . After the bonus was done , everyone started panicking because they ’ re like , ‘ If the bonus is over , they ’ re obviously about to mandate it .’ Employees were discussing it a lot , as we wanted to be proactive and try to talk to and negotiate with them before they just mandated it , because at the time we thought they actually cared about their employees ,” Bridges says .
“ Everyone was scared ,” Bridges recalls . “ This small group of girls kept pushing me to say something , as I can be vocal when I don ’ t agree with something , and I ’ ve been known to challenge things that other people are scared of . So , they pushed me forward . It was on a Sunday that I had off when I made a makeshift petition on my computer , I donned my scrubs , and I pretended to be at work . I ran around the whole hospital , going to all these units to see who wanted to sign the petition , asking people who agreed that you shouldn ’ t be fired over not taking the shot , to sign the petition . In just a couple hours by myself , I had almost 200 signatures . Many people who had taken the vaccine also signed the petition , too , because they were mad ; they didn ’ t think we should be forced to accept the vaccine against our will if we wanted to stay employed .”
Bridges says a diverse group of hospital employees – everyone from nurses to techs and therapists – signed her petition . Bridges says it wasn ’ t until the next day that she heard that someone had reported her petition efforts and that healthcare system leadership was walking the hospital , attempting to find and stop her .
“ The next day I got a phone call from the secretary of the CEO of the Baytown Methodist Hospital , the facility I worked for , who told me the CEO and CNO wanted to meet with me the following day ,” Bridges recalls . “ They wanted to get me in quickly , less than 24 hours , and even wanted me to come to the meeting during my shift ; my director found another nurse to cover my patients .”
Bridges says the meeting lasted approximately an hour and a half , during which time she says she presented her side of the issue , and then hospital leadership presented their side .
“ I reminded them that we weren ’ t vaccinated all last year and I even worked the COVID unit most of that time ,” Bridges says . “ I caught COVID from a patient , and even through it all , I was the first nurse in a hospital to do what they called ‘ Windows ’ for patients and family members , as relatives couldn ’ t see their loved ones except through the facility windows . I was the first nurse to conduct these window visits with patients who were critically ill from COVID and who were not expected to make it . The family members would come to the windows of this outdoor cafeteria , and we would move the patient to this special room . I would go in there with them , wearing full PPE , and I would
The public needs to stop and think that if millions of medical professionals are willing to lose their jobs over something we are seeing first-hand , then there should most definitely be questions answered .”
– Jennifer Bridges , RN
hold the phone to their ear so the families could communicate with them . I ’ d be in this room sometimes for an hour and a half , sweating in my PPE , but glad to do it . It was so emotional , and most of the other nurses didn ’ t want to do it because it took so long , and it was so draining . But they kept having me do these window visits because they knew I was more compassionate . So , that ’ s why if anyone questions me about my dedication to my patients , I get upset , because I ’ ve been through so much during the pandemic .”
Bridges says during most of the meeting , the participants were calm as they discussed their respective positions . “ I started negotiating ,” Bridges says . “ I said , ‘ Look , we ’ re not comfortable with the vaccines , there ’ s not enough research and evidence , no long-term data yet . We don ’ t want the vaccines , but instead let us continue to wear masks and face shields and full PPE like we have in the past .’ At some point during the meeting , they stopped listening to me when I was bringing up various facts , returning to their agenda . They kept saying it was for the benefit for our community and our patients , but they wouldn ’ t answer my questions or address my concerns . They would ignore them and keep talking ,” Bridges says . “ And then the conversation got heated .”
Bridges alleges that at that point , the CEO of Houston Methodist Baytown , David Bernard , had said , “ Vaccination is more important than your individual autonomy .”
“ To a nurse , that is like a slap in the face ,” Bridges says . “ He said this to me when I was trying to negotiate terms for thousands of employees . A nurse ’ s autonomy is one of the most important pieces of being a good nurse . We are taught to be critical thinkers and to challenge orders when we think there might be a mistake . This is the first time in history we are getting in trouble for doing just that . I merely questioned something new that did not have adequate research yet . Now , millions are doing the same . The public needs to stop and think that if millions of medical professionals are willing to lose their jobs over something we are seeing first-hand , then there should most definitely be questions answered .”
In a June 8 , 2021 email to all Houston Methodist employees , Boom had written , “ As of today , we are nearly 100 percent compliant with our COVID-19 vaccine mandate with 24,947 of us being fully vaccinated . Houston Methodist is officially the first hospital system in the country to achieve this goal for the benefit of its patients … We had only 178 full-time or part-time employees who did not get fully vaccinated or were not granted an exemption or deferral . Of these employees , 27 have received one dose of vaccine , so I am hopeful they will get their second doses soon . Of our employees , 285 received a medical or religious exemption , and 332 were granted deferrals for pregnancy and other reasons . The small percentage of employees who did not comply with the policy are now suspended without pay for the next 14 days . We won ’ t have the final numbers for two weeks as employees can still get vaccinated with their second dose or with the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine . I wish the number could be zero , but unfortunately , a small number of