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 Someren Glen’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.

As of June 18, 2021, Someren Glen’s combined resident and team member vaccination rate is 88%.

3/12/21

A full and bustling dining room with laughter rising above the clank of silverware. A life-enrichment outing with every seat on the bus filled. A daughter having a quiet afternoon tea time with her mom. These are all things we long to hear and see in our community. As vaccination rates continue to improve we are working towards a phased re-opening to our community, to get back to pre-pandemic life, but with health and safety in mind.

At Someren Glen, we have a combined resident and team member vaccination rate of 97%.

As we await more direction from our federally and state-regulated neighborhoods of assisted living and skilled nursing, our clinical and operational teams have outlined how we can safely re-open our residential living (independent living) neighborhoods. Our approach continues to be a balance between health and happiness. We are committed to following best practices and proven virus mitigation protocols while expanding community life when it is safe to do so.

This grid is broken into an early phase three and a late phase three opening plan. As you can see at the top, everything depends on the combined vaccination rate of the community. Our community is working towards this plan, we have already made some changes in some areas. It may take us a little bit longer in other areas. Our commitment is to reach full re-opening of our community within the same standards as our surrounding community. We will do so cautiously as the health and well-being of everyone who lives and works at Someren Glen are paramount. As is spreading more joy and a return to normalcy for our vibrant community afforded us with our increasing vaccination rate. For more information about a specific area of interest, give us a call at (303) 552-0215. 

Click to view the grid.

01/21/21

Check out Someren Glen’s very own team member, Lucy, rapping to our residents about the Covid-19 vaccine.

Watch the video here.

01/21/21

We are so excited that we were able to vaccinate our superhero residential and assisted living residents at Someren Glen today!

01/21/21

Status Update for January 21st

We have a few different updates for you regarding our COVID-19 virus activity and vaccination efforts.

Residential & Assisted Living

An asymptomatic community support team member tested positive for the virus on January 18^th and is currently isolating at home. This team member had previously tested positive, isolated, and returned to work. This was their first test after the state and county health department’s recommended 90 day waiting period before testing again. We consulted with the county, and even though it is likely this positive test may be a “carryover” from this team member’s previous positive test, we still must treat it as a new positive test result.

Suites at Someren Glen – Skilled Nursing

Today we learned from our routine testing, that an associate who last worked in our Evergreen neighborhood Monday tested positive for the virus.  The team member has mild symptoms and is isolating at home. We are awaiting other test results.

Resident and team member safety is our top priority.  All team members and residents must adhere to proper, over the nose and mouth mask-wearing while out and about in the community.  We are following federal, state, and local health directives and virus mitigation protocols. We are conducting stringent anti-virus cleanings.

Residential & Assisted Living Vaccine Clinic Date

Friday, January 22nd     10am-6pm     Walgreens/Pfizer

Second Suites Skilled Nursing Vaccine Clinic Date

Monday, January 25th   10am-6pm   Walgreens/Pfizer

We are eagerly preparing for the second COVID-19 vaccine clinic in the Suites and the first clinic in the residential and assisted living building, the dates and times are listed here.

We have a lot of useful information on our website, www.SomerenGlen.org, click on the COVID Updates tab, and then Latest Vaccine Information. In addition to reputable resources, we have the Walgreens consent form on the site that you can download, fill out and email to Craig Sparkman, csparkman@clcmail.org  for residential living and assisted living, and to Laura Roedema-Bliek, lroedema@clcmail.org for those associated with the Suites, if you still need to turn in a consent form. If you already turned one it, there no need to turn in a second. Also, be sure to have a current insurance card and information.

Now is the time to fully educate yourself about the vaccine. We want everyone who lives and works in our community to be vaccinated for the future safety of our community.

The family member hotline remains available; please call 303.327.9936 if you have questions about this information. Additionally, families of residents in assisted living or long-term-care may contact our Ombudsman, Caitlin Phillips, at cphillips@drcog.org or call 303.480.6831.

01/21/21

Residential & Assisted Living Vaccine Clinic Date

Friday, January 22nd     10am-6pm     Walgreens/Pfizer

Second Suites Skilled Nursing Vaccine Clinic Date

Monday, January 25th   10am-6pm   Walgreens/Pfizer

01/14/21

Residential Living Vaccine Clinic Date

Wednesday, January 26th                 

9am-3pm                       

Walgreens/Pfizer

Second Assisted, Memory Support and Skilled Nursing Vaccine Clinic Date

Tuesday, January 25th                      

9am-3pm                        

Walgreens/Pfizer

We are eagerly preparing for our first COVID-19 vaccine clinic for our residential living neighborhoods and the second clinics for our assisted living, memory support and skilled nursing neighborhoods.

First In Community Vaccine Clinic Date for Suites of Someren Glen
We are thrilled to share the good news with you that our Walgreens Pharmacy partner has set our first COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic where we will receive the Pfizer vaccine for residents and team members at The Suites of Someren Glen.

We do not yet know when a clinic will be set up for Someren Glen residential and assisted living apartment homes. We are advocating for those vaccine clinics to be set-up very soon.
We encourage everyone in our community to get the vaccine. We must reach a “herd immunity” both within our senior living community and in the broader community we are located in for life to eventually return to normal.
• The vaccine will begin to provide you protection about two weeks after your second vaccination.
• If you are vaccinated, you are being a good neighbor and protecting others by getting the vaccine.
• The more quickly we all are vaccinated, the faster we can begin to loosen restrictions and connect in person with each other again.
• Until we reach a high percentage vaccination rate, we will all still need to continue wearing masks, socially distancing, and washing our hands.

Many of you are eager to get the vaccine and put an end to this pandemic. Safety is top priority for not only our community but also for all of the scientists and health experts working on the vaccination effort. Like any vaccine, there may be minor side effects such as soreness, achiness, and potentially low-grade fever. A small number of people experience more series side effects, but the percentages are low, and typically related to history of anaphylactic allergic reactions. We have a lot of useful information on our website and links to scientifically proven data. Please take the time to learn more about the vaccine.
In this packet of information we have provided you the following:
1. A Frequently Asked Question document provided by the American Medical Director Association (AMDA)
2. The Pfizer Vaccine information sheet
3. A flyer about the myths and facts of the vaccine
4. The Walgreens consent form. This will need to be returned to Laura Roedema-Bliek at lroedema@clcmail.org for those living at The Suites of Someren Glen or to Craig Sparkman, csparkman@clcmail.org for those living at Someren Glen Residential or Assisted Living.

Please get ready now. Even if your level of living has not yet scheduled a clinic, we encourage everyone to go ahead and get their consent forms signed and submitted.
We will need a current copy of each resident and employee insurance card. If you do not have one, please get one. The vaccine is free, however insurance may be charged for supplies and injection administration. If you do not have insurance, you will not be charged.

We are excited about this good news. We hope you are too!

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.

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 Legacy Community Town Hall Webinar from December 8th here.

Leadership reviewed a variety of topics such as holiday procedures and vaccine progress.

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

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

Arapahoe County, CO