Carmen, the facility's community mentor, told the committee on Oct. 23 that the facility has recently reported an increase in COVID-19 cases among both staff and residents. “We've had 3 positive staff, 2 of which were therapy staff,” Carmen said, and “we've had 3 positive residents” in the short-term rehab household.

The three residents were all in the same short-term rehab household, which has limited the facility's ability to accept new admissions. Carmen explained that each new positive test restarts a 14-day isolation window for the household, extending the period before the household can admit new residents. She said East and West households currently have limited open beds and Fireside/Deerview are full, reducing available capacity for incoming residents.

To address prevention and offer protection to residents and staff, the facility has scheduled an on-site vaccine clinic for Oct. 30. Carmen said the contracted pharmacy will administer vaccines and handle insurance billing for vaccine administration, which reduces staff workload. “Our pharmacy comes in and does that for us if we do a clinic,” she said, adding the pharmacy also bills insurance for the administration fee.

Committee members asked about historical vaccine acceptance. Carmen said uptake was high when the COVID vaccine first became available in 2021 — “upwards 80 to 90 percent” — but booster acceptance has declined over time and recent booster clinics have had roughly 50 percent uptake. She said final participation numbers will be reported after the clinic.

No severe illnesses were reported from the recent cases, and staff emphasized they will continue to follow testing and isolation protocols. The committee did not take formal action on the report.