Cleveland Clinic not enforcing mask mandate, patient says

Cleveland Clinic has allegedly failed to enforce its mask mandate, a patient at Cleveland Clinic’s Taussig Cancer Center wrote to Cleveland.com July 8. 

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Sandy McNair has made biweekly visits “for about a year” to the center for treatments, she told the publication.

“During every one of those visits, two circumstances never changed: (i) individuals were not complying with the clinic’s mask mandate; and (ii) no clinic employee ever proactively sought to correct those situations,” she wrote.

Mr. McNair said he had raised her concerns with the clinic’s general counsel’s office and ombudsman’s office. 

“I received no response to my suggestions; no change occurred,” he wrote. “While the clinic doctors provide excellent care, the clinic’s administration has been incredibly lax in protecting its patients and visitors.”

Cleveland Clinic emailed the following statement to Becker’s

“As a healthcare system, we require that caregivers, visitors and patients wear face masks at our facilities. We have surgical masks available at the entrances for patients and visitors, but they may wear other types of well-fitting masks as well. Exceptions may be made if a patient has a health or behavioral condition that prevents them from wearing one.”

Editor’s note: This article was updated July 14 to correct the pronouns for Sandy McNair.

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