After a year like no other, the COVID vaccine provides hope to seniors who live in senior living communities.  Hope to return to a normal where masks are something kids wear at Halloween and social distance means not running into people as you walk down the hall. Hope for communities to return to places where sharing smiles is a common occurrence and human touch (whether it is a handshake or hug) is welcomed. Hope that the risk of COVID-19 will no longer dictate how and when residents can visit with loved ones.  

The news of the COVID-19 vaccine is energizing. We are excited that residents and employees at the Personal Care and Assisted Living Communities managed by Heritage Senior Living are among the first to receive it. Through the past year, we have believed that our residents have been ‘better together’ but we know that in a post-vaccine world, the benefits of living a caring community become apparent.  And, new residents who move into one of our communities will likely be eligible to receive the vaccine if the move in occurs prior to our assigned clinic dates.   

Heritage Senior Living has partnered with CVS to distribute the vaccine to residents and staff.  We are eagerly awaiting clinic dates and hope to be able to schedule the first clinic in January. The CDC and the medical community are encouraging all residents to participate in the vaccine program.  Of course, we understand that many families have questions about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine, as well as potential side effects.  We encourage you to visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/index.html as well as www.cvs.com/ for more information.

The past year has proven the commitment of our team and resilience of our residents.  We are stronger because of the challenges that we’ve faced together and fiercely protective of our residents that we’ve fought to keep safe and healthy.  But as we end 2020, we have hope for a very different 2021.