On November 5, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), a division of the Department of Health and Human Services, published its Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination requirements that most Medicare- and Medicaid-certified providers and suppliers must meet to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs (the “CMS Rule”). The CMS Rule requires health care providers to make certain that all persons working within a facility that participates in Medicare or Medicaid programs are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Following legal challenges, the Supreme Court of the United States, after hearing oral arguments upheld the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) COVID-19 vaccination mandate on January 14, 2022. Therefore, CMS is permitted to implement and enforce their new Medicare Conditions of Participation for healthcare facilities.

This vaccination requirement applies to eligible staff working at a facility that participates in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, regardless of clinical responsibility or patient contact. The requirement includes all current staff as well as any new staff who provide any care, treatment, or other services for the facility and/or its patients. This includes facility employees, licensed practitioners, students/faculty, trainees, and volunteers. Additionally, this also includes individuals who provide care, treatment, or other services for the facility and/or its patients under contract or other arrangements. It also applies to staff who work off site such as in home health and hospice.

The COVID 19 Vaccination requirement applies to all the health care facilities with which the Milligan University Nursing program has affiliation agreements and through which students fulfill the clinical curriculum requirements set forth by the Tennessee Board of Nursing and our accrediting agency, The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. Further, it also applies to the vast majority of clinical sites utilized by our Physician Assistant and Occupational Therapy programs.

Milligan University (MU) must provide documentation to our affiliate clinical agencies that the students and faculty members in the affected programs have either:

1. Provided documentation of having completed one of the COVID vaccination courses described below:
1. Having received 2 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID19 Vaccine based on manufacturer guidelines (21 days apart)
2. Having received 2 doses of Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine based on manufacturer guidelines (28 days apart)
3. Having received by 1 dose of Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 Vaccine

OR

2. Been approved for either a Medical Exemption or Religious Exception. NOTE: Some of the clinical sites with whom MU has affiliation agreements will not allow for medical or religious exceptions.

In the absence of information on a student/faculty member regarding completed COVID vaccination status or presence of an approved valid medical/religious exemption, the student/faculty member will be denied access to Ballad Health, James H. Quillen VA Medical Center, and most other clinical agencies for academic program requirements.