March 4, 2021 (Kennett Square, Pennsylvania)—A year ago, Kendal-Crosslands Communities pulled out its Emergency Preparedness Pandemic Plan and quickly got to work to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. At that time, no one imagined that a year later 99% of residents and 90% of staff members would be vaccinated. CVS pharmacy team members administered the Pfizer vaccine to over 1,300 people in the community … twice.
“We are grateful that staff worked successfully with our CVS Health partners in administering 10 vaccination clinics on our campus since January,” says Lisa Marsilio, KCC’s Chief Executive Officer. “The hope is our vaccination success provides us the ability to begin to open areas within our community safely.”
CVS, Walgreens and other pharmacy chains, partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to offer on-site COVID-19 vaccination services nationwide for residents in nursing homes, assisted living and personal care homes.
“The Federal Pharmacy Partnership provided Kendal-Crosslands Communities the ability to work with CVS and vaccinate our residents and our staff members,” says Donna Taylor, KCC’s Chief Health Services Officer. “The partnership was an effective program that provided critical supply chain management of the vaccination process, including storage and the fulfillment of reporting requirements.”
KCC provided educational seminars for residents and staff, as well as a video interview with the Medical Director, to address vaccination myths and misinformation.
“Our residents lived through our world’s history with polio, measles and chickenpox immunizations, and our residents shared their personal stories, which helped our staff members understand that vaccines are necessary for immunity,” Marsilio says.
“Personal conversations also helped with our high vaccination success,” Taylor says. “Some staff simply had some questions about their unique health concerns.”
KCC reached a major milestone with its high COVID-19 vaccination rates. “Our hope is here; we are blessed,” says Marsilio.
