While only 10% of the general public in the United States has received a first-round COVID-19 vaccine shot, an impressive 93% of the residents, caregivers and staff at Silvergate Retirement Residence, operator of three senior living communities in north county San Diego, now have successfully received both rounds of the Pfizer vaccination.
“When you’re a local operator, you can take more decisive action to protect your residents and employees,” said David Petree, Chief Executive Officer of AmeriCare Health & Retirement, owner of Silvergate San Marcos. “Through significant education and corporate incentives, our management team was able to convince the vast majority of both our residents and staff to participate in the vaccination process. I was incredibly impressed with the rate of participation they were able to achieve. I am so glad to see our team leading the industry in this effort. By establishing a safer senior living environment, we’ll now be able to open up to all kinds of new activities.”
Vaccinations are now offered in California to anyone over the age of 65. However, seniors often struggle to secure a vaccination appointment, find the registration process confusing and have concerns about limited supply. As a Phase I priority location, Silvergate acted swiftly to secure an adequate supply of vaccine doses and arrange for multiple on-site clinic vaccination dates at the community. Silvergate residents benefited from a turn-key vaccine solution, with registration taken care of for them and shots delivered right where they live. As a result, more than 95% have completed the second round of vaccines and are now considered immune.
Currently across the nation, roughly 50% of health care workers in hospitals, nursing homes and long-term care communities have elected to receive the vaccination. Understanding this, Silvergate implemented a multi-faceted information campaign across all of their communities, coupled with attractive participation incentives, to counter common misinformation and personal bias among residents and staff. Silvergate’s additional efforts resulted in more than 90% of its eligible staff being vaccinated – a rate far above the national averages.
The measures Silvergate took to achieve such a high rate of vaccination within the community included individual meetings with staff to address personal concerns, dissemination of educational materials campus-wide, additional paid time off as a reward for participating, a day-of thank you gift card to Starbucks and an “I Got My COVID-19 Vaccine” shirt-collar button to wear with pride.
“I really feel like our management did a great job of helping everyone understand how import- ant it is to get vaccinated,” said Christina Woolard, the Business Office Manager at Silvergate who worked to secure vaccine consent forms, register those receiving shots and help schedule second-round vaccinations for everyone who had an initial shot. “I’ve gotten to know and love all the residents here at Silver- gate. We’re like one big family, and I want them to be protected from this pandemic as much as I want my own family to be shielded from it. I felt it was my duty to get vaccinated and was simply the right thing to do.”
Many seniors have been reluctant to consider a move to a retirement community during the COVID -19 pandemic. With all Silvergate communities having delivered both rounds of vaccines at such high participation rates, now may be the ideal time for seniors to explore the protective bubble Silvergate offers. Community-wide vaccination success means new and exciting events and activities can be reintroduced safely and without delay.
About Silvergate San Marcos
Silvergate is now scheduling virtual and private in-person tours of its apartment homes and beautiful retirement community campus. Prime locations are currently available at the community for both one and two bedroom apartment homes. To set up a time to tour, call David Nelson at (760) 744-4484 General information about the independent living, assisted living and memory care accommodations at Silvergate can be found at SilvergateRR.com/SM.
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