11 at Cincinnati Children's affected by immigration order

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center is advising against travel abroad for 11 employees who fall under the Trump administration’s executive order on immigration “until there is more clarity around this situation,” a hospital spokesman said Monday.

Other health care systems across the region that recruit from around the world also were assessing the impact of the executive order.

International graduates "play an important role in U.S. health care, representing roughly 25 percent of the workforce," said Dr. Darrell Kirch, president of the Association of American Medical Colleges, in a statement. "We are deeply concerned that the … executive order will disrupt education and research and have a damaging long-term impact on patients and health care." The medical colleges of the universities of Cincinnati and Kentucky are members of the association, as are Indiana and Ohio State universities.

Kirch, who noted the U.S. is already facing a serious shortage of physicians, said that in the past decade, nearly 10,000 doctors have gotten special Conrad 30 J-1  visas or waivers of their student loan interest to work in underserved urban and rural areas.

Kaiser Health News reported that more than 15,000 foreign health care workers – nearly half of them physicians and surgeons – received H-1B visas in 2014, which are designed to bring skilled labor into the U.S.

The sweeping executive order suspended entry of refugees to the United States for 120 days, barred refugees from Syrian indefinitely and blocked entry into the United States for 90 days by citizens of seven mainly Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The order ignited protests in Greater Cincinnati and across the country over the weekend.

Terry Loftus, Cincinnati Children's senior director of public relations, said the 11 employees “are on visas and green cards from the affected countries,” but there were no issues concerning travel for the workers since Friday’s order.

Loftus said eight of the 11 Cincinnati Children’s employees potentially affected are researchers, and three provide patient care. Loftus also noted that Cincinnati Children’s, one of the city’s biggest employers, has 15,429 workers from more than 80 nations. Hospital human resources officials have contacted the 11 employees “to offer and assistance as needed,” he said.

In a letter to employees Monday afternoon, Cincinnati Children's CEO president and CEO Michael Fisher said President Donald Trump's order also "potentially impacts the ability of some of our … patient families to travel freely." But now, the hospital has no patients from the seven countries nor any scheduled to arrive in Cincinnati.

Fisher began his letter by saying: "Cincinnati Children’s is a beacon of tolerance, inclusiveness, and respect for everyone. Now more than ever, it’s important that we hold true to our values and be a positive force for change in our community. "

Joe Kelley, spokesman for TriHealth, said, “Our employees, residents and students are already here pursuant to the appropriate visas. … We have recruited residents from a few of these countries (under the order) previously.  However, all residents here have visas, but this executive order may prevent new visa holders from coming.”

Officials with St. Elizabeth Healthcare, Mercy Health and the Christ Hospital Health Network said Monday they do not have employees affected by the executive order.

Kelly Martin, spokeswoman for UC Health, said officials were still looking into the impact on the system, which runs the University of Cincinnati Mediforcal Center and employs more than 10,000 people.

Richard Puff, spokesman for the UC College of Medicine, said that as of Monday afternoon, the school has not learned of any student or faculty member who has had difficulty traveling since Friday. "We are continuing to monitor the situation closely.”