COVID-19 Status Update

Vaccine Fact or Fiction Video – December 2021

All of the COVID and vaccine information can be confusing. On December 15, 2021, Jill Vitale-Aussem, President and CEO of Cappella of Pueblo West’s parent organization, Christian Living Communities, hosted a Facebook live event with two clinical experts, CLC Medical Director Dr. Erick Gomer, MD, and VP of Clinical and Compliance Pat McBride, RN, BSN, MSN. During their conversation, they separated out the facts and fiction about the COVID-19 pandemic, the vaccines, and boosters, and shared what we are doing to balance health and happiness in our communities.

Past Updates

COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Plans

Vaccine Clinic is scheduled!

We have really good news, our first COVID-19 vaccine clinic has been scheduled for Thursday, January 14^th at 1pm for all residents and team members! Walgreens will provide the clinic where they will administer the Pfizer vaccine.

If you haven’t yet turned in a consent form for either yourself or your loved one, please do as soon as possible, please email me Carolyn Spear at cspear@cappellapueblowest.com . Below you will find website education information as well as the consent forms for you to easily download and fill-out.

We want you to get ready now. All residents and team members need to have their most current insurance cards. If you misplaced your insurance card please make sure you get a replacement card for yourself or your loved one as soon as possible, so the process moves forward as smoothly as possible. Please take a look at the below links for further information.

• A Frequently Asked Question document provided by the American Medical Director Association (AMDA)
• The Pfizer Vaccine and Moderna Vaccine information sheets ( we are not sure which we will receive at this time)
• A flyer about the myths and facts of the vaccine
• The Walgreens consent form that must be filled out for every resident and team member. When we communicate our clinic dates, we will provide directions on how to submit your form.

Frequently Asked Questions | 12.3.20

This Frequently Asked Questions document is intended to give information to residents, families, team members, and the general community regarding the status of rolling out the COVID-19 vaccine in our communities. Information is changing daily. There are times the federal directive and state directives are different. Christian Living Communities (CLC) – Cappella Living Solutions is committed to providing accurate information as timely as possible. This document will be updated and available as changes warrant. For vaccine-specific information, we request the CDC documents be shared.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has prioritized older adults and people working in Long-Term Care to be part of the first-tier to receive the vaccine. Will my loved one’s Community be included?

All CLC-Cappella communities are registered with the Pharmacy Partnership for Long Term Care Initiative to be part of the vaccine’s first-tier distribution. At the moment, we believe this will include team members and residents of skilled nursing and assisted living communities. We are waiting to hear if residential (independent) living residents/team members will also be included in the first-tier distribution.

Where does the vaccine approval currently stand

We anticipate the emergency use approval for the Pfizer vaccine could be as early as December 10th. The discussion for the Moderna vaccine will be on December 17th. Once approval is given, the federal government will then distribute the vaccine to the states for inoculations. Each state will then set a state-specific timeline and process for vaccine distribution and administration. We anticipate all of the states we support will follow the CDC tier guidelines for prioritizing who will receive the vaccine first, but that has not been firmly confirmed.

Once the states get the vaccine, how will it be distributed to Long-Term Care?

These are some of the details still being worked out. At this point, because all of our communities are registered in the federal pharmacy partnership, we will receive the vaccine through either CVS or Walgreens pharmacy or both. We anticipate the pharmacy teams coming to our communities to administer the vaccines to residents, working closely with our clinical teams. We are awaiting more details regarding team member vaccination.

How will the vaccine be rolled out in our Community?

We will begin by educating residents, families, and team members. The CDC has provided some information sheets that will be distributed and posted on websites to answer questions specifically around vaccine development, safety, and why getting the vaccine is beneficial. We will work with our assigned pharmacy, who will store, distribute, administered the vaccine. We anticipate the pharmacy will set up clinic dates and times for resident vaccinations. The pharmacies will also document and report our vaccine administration progress.

Once residents and team members are vaccinated, will restrictions be lifted?

Not immediately, but that is the goal. It will take time for the two-step vaccine process to be fully implemented therefore, we will still need to wear masks, socially distance, and follow clinical protocols until the Community and the surrounding cities and towns reach a majority of people being vaccinated. It takes up to two weeks after the second dose of the vaccine for each person to benefit from its protection.

What if my loved one or a team member refuses to be vaccinated?

The CLC-Cappella team is working to determine what options if any, will be offered to those refusing the vaccination. We will share more information when it’s available.

For vaccine-specific questions, please refer to the CDC handouts.

• • 8 Things to Know About Vaccine Planning
  • Benefits of Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine
• LEARN MORE about how the CLC-Cappella Communities are prepared to receive COVID-19 Vaccine.

1/25/22

We received all previous pending PCR results back from the state lab and are pleased that we only received one positive test for a fully vaccinated resident whose test was collected on Friday. This resident is being supported in their apartment with isolation protocol and their loved ones have been personally contacted.

Unfortunately, the positivity rate for our county continues to increase, it is now 27.5% a four percent increase from the previous week.

Out of an abundance of caution we continue to limit our life enrichment activities to small group and individual activities in apartments to increase social distancing in our community. We continue with our dining program following stringent virus mitigation best practices and visitations are allowed with precautions.

All visitors will continue to be screened, including having their temperature checked, they will need to wear a mask during the entire visit, they may not eat or drink during the visit, and all visits must take place in the residents’ apartments per state regulations.

Team members are wearing surgical masks and gloves when providing resident care. We continue following standards and protocols to identify, isolate and eradicate the virus in our community.

We appreciate your support of our extra steps to keep our community safe. We continue to encourage everyone to become fully vaccinated, including the booster dose as it greatly reduces the impact of the COVID-19 virus on our community.

1/20/22

We finally received all results back from the state lab from the PCR tests we collected on Monday, January 10^th. We are pleased to share there were no new positive test results for team members. We did identify one new positive result for a resident, all other resident results were negative. This resident is being supported in their apartment with isolation protocol and their loved ones have been personally contacted.

We are still awaiting our PCR results from tests collected late last week and earlier this week. Per state guidance for twice a week testing during an outbreak, we will test again tomorrow.

Out of an abundance of caution we continue to limit our life enrichment activities to small group and individual activities in apartments to increase social distancing in our community. We continue with our dining program following stringent virus mitigation best practices and visitations are allowed with precautions.

All visitors will continue to be screened, including having their temperature checked, they will need to wear a mask during the entire visit, they may not eat or drink during the visit, and all visits must take place in the residents’ apartments per state regulations.

Team members are wearing surgical masks and gloves when providing resident care. We continue following standards and protocols to identify, isolate and eradicate the virus in our community.

We appreciate your support of our extra steps to keep our community safe. We continue to encourage everyone to become fully vaccinated, including the booster dose as it greatly reduces the impact of the COVID-19 virus on our community.

1/19/22

In our continued commitment to be transparent and provide timely notifications, we want to let our Cappella of Pueblo West family know that we received a positive rapid POC COVID-19 test for a fully vaccinated resident. The resident is being supported in their apartment home with isolation protocols.

We will welcome back a team member tomorrow who will be considered recovered and will have completed their required quarantine.

We are still awaiting our PCR results from last week’s testing back from the state lab. We did collect another round of PCR tests yesterday and will again on Friday per state regulations.

We are limiting our life enrichment activities to small group and individual engagements to increase social distancing in our community. We continue with our dining program following stringent virus mitigation best practices and visitations are allowed with precautions.

All visitors will continue to be screened, including having their temperature checked, they will need to wear a mask during the entire visit, they may not eat or drink during the visit, and all visits must take place in the residents’ apartments per state regulations.

Team members are wearing surgical masks and gloves when providing resident care. We continue following standards and protocols to identify, isolate and eradicate the virus in our community.

Thank you for your support. We will continue to put the health and safety of everyone who lives and works at Cappella of Pueblo West as our top priority.

1/17/22

In our continued commitment to be transparent and provide timely notifications, we want to let our Cappella of Pueblo West family know that we received a positive rapid POC COVID-19 test for an unvaccinated team member with an approved exemption. The team member last worked in our community on January 15^th, they are asymptomatic, and are isolating at home. We also were alerted that a resident, who had gone to the hospital to receive treatment for another ailment, tested positive on January 16^th. The resident is fully vaccinated and continues to be supported at the hospital.

Unfortunately, due to the current COVID-19 surge, we have not yet received the results from the full community PCR tests we collected last Monday and Thursday, the labs are backed up. We will again collect PCR tests for all residents and team members, regardless of their vaccination status today per the state’s twice a week required testing.

We are limiting our life enrichment activities to small group and individual engagements to increase social distancing in our community. We continue with our dining program following stringent virus mitigation best practices and visitations are allowed with precautions.

All visitors will continue to be screened, including having their temperature checked, they will need to wear a mask during the entire visit, they may not eat or drink during the visit, and all visits must take place in the residents’ apartments per state regulations.

Team members are wearing surgical masks and gloves when providing resident care. We continue following standards and protocols to identify, isolate and eradicate the virus in our community.

According to the state health department, our county’s virus positivity rate jumped nearly 10%, we are now at 23.4%. We encourage everyone to become fully vaccinated, including receiving the booster dose. The vaccine greatly reduces the impact of the virus on our community.

Thank you for your support. We will continue to put the health and safety of everyone who lives and works at Cappella of Pueblo West as our top priority.

1/11/22

In our continued commitment to be transparent and provide timely notifications, we want to let our Cappella of Pueblo West family know that we have received a positive COVID-19 test for a fully vaccinated team member. The team member last worked in our community on January 5^th, they are experiencing mild symptoms, and are isolating at home.

We collected PCR tests from all residents and team members, regardless of their vaccination status yesterday, we are awaiting those results.

We continue with all virus mitigation efforts and best practices, including having all team members wearing surgical masks and gloves when providing resident care. We continue following standards and protocols to identify, isolate and eradicate the virus in our community.

At this time, there are no changes to any of our community programs, including visitations. All visitors will continue to be screened, including having your temperature checked, they will need to wear a mask during the entire visit, they may not eat or drink during the visit, and all visits must take place in the residents’ apartments per state regulations.

According to the state health department, the virus positivity rate for our county is high at 15.8%, a 10% jump from last week. We encourage everyone to become fully vaccinated, including receiving the booster dose.

Thank you for your support. We will continue to put the health and safety of everyone who lives and works at Cappella of Pueblo West as our top priority.

Q: Will booster vaccines be available in communities?

A: Many communities are seeking to coordinate booster clinics for those vaccinated last winter and spring for COVID-19. Our goal is to provide onsite clinics eight months following the second round of vaccine shots that were offered in a community last winter.   We’ve partnered with local retail pharmacies and Pharmerica to provide onsite access.  With vaccines now so readily available at pharmacies, grocery stores, and medical offices, communities may also coordinate transportation as needed for residents to get their boosters.

What about immunocompromised residents?

In assisted living, memory support, and skilled nursing neighborhoods, we are identifying residents whose health conditions qualify them for a third vaccine- a stronger dosage than the booster- and are offering third vaccines in conjunction with many of our booster clinics, or sooner where possible and needed. In residential living, we are educating residents who may have the following conditions of their option for a third vaccine:

• Active tumor treatment
• Organ donation recipient
• Immunosuppression therapy for stem cell or CAR-T-cell transplant
• Moderate to severe primary immunodeficiency
• High-dose corticosteroid treatment

Q: How are visitors being screened?

A:  We screen everyone entering the building everyday immediately, including team members and essential care providers. Screening includes:

• Fever screening, we take temperatures of everyone, including team members
• Cough and/or shortness of breath
• Sore throat
• Any travel outside of country or state
• Identifying if they have visited another senior living community
• Questions on purpose of visit
• Once screening is complete, visitors must wash hands before visiting residents and after leaving the community

Q: Will CLC/Cappella require the vaccine for team members?

CLC & Cappella leadership has been discussing this weekly since the vaccine became available.  Ultimately, we feel it’s one of the most important steps we can take to protect resident and team member health, safety, and freedom in the communities we serve.  Fortunately, the majority of Cappella/CLC team members have already chosen to be vaccinated.

Two key factors tipped the scales.  First, the Delta variant causes more than twice as many infections per ill individual as earlier variants of COVID-19.  In fact, a recent study of by The American Health Care Association and The National Center for Assisted Living showed the higher team member vaccination rates, the lower the resident COVID-19 infection rate.  And for communities where team members were 100% vaccinated, resident COVID-19 deaths were nearly eliminated.

Second, with FDA approval for at least one vaccine, one of the key concerns expressed by team members about efficacy and safety has been more fully addressed.

By the end of August 2021, nearly half of senior living & healthcare organizations across the country were requiring vaccinations of team members.

All team members (other than those approved for exemption due to medical or religious reasons) volunteers, and business partners working in our communities must receive the full vaccine series for the COVID-19 virus by Friday, October 1st.

Q: What about residents or team members who already had COVID-19? Do they need to be vaccinated?

A: Unvaccinated individuals who were previously infected with COVID-19 but did NOT get vaccinated were more than twice as likely to be reinfected with COVID-19 as those who had the illness AND were fully vaccinated, according to a recent study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control.

What portions of residents are vaccinated? What about team members?

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid have begun publishing vaccination rates for nursing homes

https://data.cms.gov/covid-19/covid-19-nursing-home-data

See previous FAQs

You can view the last organizational Town Hall Webinar pre-recorded on November 19th here.

Leadership reviewed upcoming holiday restrictions.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html

State of Colorado: https://covid19.colorado.gov/

Pueblo County, CO: https://county.pueblo.org/public-health/covid-19