COVID-19 vaccine coming to nursing homes: Will residents and staff take it?

Jan. 1—Several Lackawanna County nursing homes are scheduled to receive the COVID-19 vaccine next week, but whether facilities will convince all staff and residents to take it remains an open question.

Neither the state Department of Health nor the federal government has issued any directive requiring nursing homes, health care providers or any other employer to mandate staff be vaccinated.

According to the Health Department, Abington Manor, Aventura at Creekside, Carbondale Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and Dunmore Health Care Center were set to receive the vaccine starting this week, although officials from some of the homes said they were advised it would not arrive until early next week.

The Times-Tribune contacted each of those homes and 13 others in Lackawanna County and asked if they intend to mandate the vaccines. Of the 12 that responded, seven — St Mary's Villa Nursing Home, Carbondale Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Abington Manor, Linwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Gino J. Merli Veterans Center, Riverside Health Care and Rehabilitation Center and Allied Services Skilled Nursing Center — said they are urging everyone to be vaccinated but are not mandating it at this time.

Five other homes said they also are encouraging residents and staff to be vaccinated, but did not specifically address if they will mandate it.

Eric Yashinski, administrator at Adventura at Creekside, said the home, which is scheduled to begin vaccinations Wednesday, is providing all information it receives about the risks and benefits of the vaccine available to residents and staff.

Saber Health Care, which operates Dunmore Health Care Center, Green Ridge Care Center, Mid-Valley Health Care Center and Scranton Health Care Center, said it continues to work closely with the Health Department and will follow state, local and federal guidelines.

Attempts to reach officials at Mountain View Care and Rehabilitation Center, Lackawanna Health Care and Rehab Center, The Gardens at Scranton, Marywood Heights and the Jewish Home of Eastern Pennsylvania for comment were unsuccessful.

Nursing home staff and residents are included in phase one, the highest-priority group, in the vaccine distribution rollout due to the high risk the virus poses to those populations, particularly to residents.

Brian Lee, executive director of Families for Better Care, an advocacy group for nursing home residents, said he opposes mandating vaccines for residents. He has no position regarding staff, which is a matter for the employer and employees to decide, he said.

Officials with groups that represent nursing home operators and employees said they are encouraging residents and staff to be vaccinated, but believe those decisions should be left to the employers, employees and residents.

"We're leaving it to the providers, who are on the front lines and know their staff and residents, to make those decisions," said Zach Shamberg, chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Health Care Association, a trade group for the long-term care industry.

Dane Henning, a spokesman for the National Association of Health Care Assistants, which represents certified nursing assistants in nursing homes, said it also is urging employees to be vaccinated, but many still remain hesitant.

Results on a recent informal poll the group conducted of 3,110 CNAs nationwide revealed 72% said they would not take the vaccine, he said.

"The two main things we see with the hesitancy is, number one, a lack of trust and number two, a lack of information on the vaccine," Henning said. "You are telling me I have to take a vaccine and I don't know anything about it."

Henning said it's crucial that nursing homes address those issues by providing educational programs.

"A lack of information creates fear," he said. "They need to receive accurate information, good or bad, so they can weigh the pros and cons and make the best decision for themselves and families."

Contact the writer:

tbesecker@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9137;

@tmbeseckerTT on Twitter.

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