A senior executive at the Bom Samaritano Hospital in San Jose was punished after the hospital was attacked for giving the coveted coronavirus vaccines to teachers in Los Gatos.
Hospital spokeswoman Sarah Sherwood confirmed on Tuesday that “disciplinary action has been taken” against COO Gary Purushotham and a new review is underway. Attempts to reach Purushotham on Tuesday afternoon were unsuccessful.
The potential shaken in the first positions comes after the municipality of Santa Clara reprimanded the hospital, saying it will not receive any more doses of the vaccine, in addition to what it needs to complete the vaccination of people who have already received an initial dose, until it can prove that has a vaccination plan that follows state and municipal guidelines.
The question arose last week, when the superintendent of the School District of the Union of Los Gatos notified employees that they had the opportunity to be vaccinated in the Good Samaritan, even when the municipality said that hospitals should prioritize health professionals and the elderly. . The hospital administered about 65 doses to district officials. The agreement also raised concerns because teachers were instructed to enroll as health professionals, despite being educators.
In a statement on Tuesday, Good Samaritan CEO Joe DeSchryver said the hospital would present a plan to the county by the end of the week “that includes tighter controls and balance sheets”.
“While vaccine storage limitations and fluctuating availability were challenging, we want to reassure our community that we only had positive intentions during the vaccination process,” said DeSchryver. “We regret the mistake we made in our efforts to use all vaccines before expiration.”
The error has created frustration and resentment, many of which are being fed on social media and text chats. Even though teachers could be vaccinated, there was no clear explanation as to why the district of Los Gatos was selected from among the others.
It is a matter of process and adherence to the process, ”said Kindra Sullivan, a mother with children in the neighboring Union School District, which has a school just blocks from the hospital. “We are all waiting patiently for our turn, so when someone comes around, it just creates anger. It is not about who is most deserving. “
A teacher in the Los Gatos district who asked not to be named said he was horrified to read the email inviting him to get vaccinated, saying to his wife, “My God, they are asking me to commit perjury.”
“We received explicit instructions to do this. This was really suspicious and many of us feel hurt by it, ”he said.
Sean Webby, a spokesman for the Santa Clara County District Attorney, said only that the office was “aware of this”.
Superintendent Paul Johnson has come under immense pressure from a group of very vocal parents from the wealthy, well-connected district to reopen classrooms. In his opening note to the team, Johnson mentioned a district program to raise money to give meals to the Good Samaritan frontline workers, writing: “They mentioned that our kindness last year was not forgotten and how much they appreciated it.”
In a separate note to parents on Monday, Johnson wrote: “I fully understand the concerns about the vaccine’s release, and any characterization I may have made about the Good Samaritan returning a good deed was my own personal interpretation. Although I apologize for this characterization, I will also continue to advocate that school staff be a high priority for vaccinations. My job, as superintendent, is to ensure the safety of all our students and staff. This is all the more urgent as we approach our goal of reopening schools in the next two weeks. That is why we are so grateful when the Bom Samaritano Hospital reached out to us with this opportunity. “
Contacted by email on Tuesday, Johnson declined a telephone interview, writing: “As you can imagine, I am extremely busy right now with preparing for the school to reopen, which, according to today’s county metrics, due to take place next Monday, February 1st, we approved the reopening plan in November and are working diligently to finalize the implementation. I will have a statement as part of Thursday’s board meeting. “
Jim Fredette, a high school history teacher in the district, said on Tuesday that he thought Johnson was straying. “If it was a mistake to offer it, it was a mistake to receive it,” he said.
Charles Binkley, director of bioethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, said he was not surprised by the frustration. When such a precious resource is involved, especially with vulnerable elderly members of a community still struggling to access it.
“The underlying assumption is that all health does is to avoid evil and do good,” said Binkley. “When something like this happens, when a trusted system is violated in any way, it violates public trust.
“It is not about doing something good,” he said, “it is about following an acceptable, legal and ethical order that has been established. They should not be confused with this. “