When a mandate was announced last week requiring all staff at nursing homes with residents on Medicare and Medicaid to be vaccinated against COVID-19, Handmaker was ready. Plans were already in the works for weekly Vaccination Clinics for residents, staff and family members of residents and staff, so the timing could not have been better. Our first clinic was held August 26th with 14 doses administered! Clinics will continue to be held every Thursday afternoon at Handmaker for the next four weeks, with the possibility of extending beyond.
While nearly all of our residents are fully vaccinated, as are the majority of our staff, once this mandate is implemented, all staff will be required to be vaccinated. Combined with the recent full FDA approval of the Pfizer Vaccine, some staff members who were previously resistant to getting vaccinated are now signing up.
Tina Johnson, our Assistant Director of Nursing, will be administering the vaccinations. “I am so thankful to finally be able to administer the COVID vaccine here at Handmaker. It makes it a little easier for us to encourage staff to get vaccinated, especially when it is so accessible. It is exciting to see more of our staff getting on board.”
As an added incentive, all Handmaker staff who get vaccinated, including those who are already vaccinated, will be entered into several raffle drawings for Staycations and cash prizes.
These vaccination clinics are open to staff members, Handmaker residents, and family members of staff and residents on Thursday afternoons. Those interested should contact Tina Johnson at 520-322-3873 to sign up to reserve their dose. Appointments must be made by the Sunday before each clinic. We are offering the Moderna vaccine, but Tina can order the Pfizer and J & J as well, with some advance notice.
Booster shots for residents and staff will be available as soon as we get the guidance and approval to administer them, eight weeks after their second dose. For those who were vaccinated at Handmaker, that would likely begin in early October.
In other Handmaker news, we are happy to again offer Kosher High Holiday catering. For more information and to order your holiday meals, go to Handmaker.org or call Mike Felde at 520-322-7009. L’shana tova!
