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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2021
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APPEAL TRIBUNE
Vaccination rates for
workers are varied
Address: P.O. Box 13009, Salem, OR 97309
Phone: 503-399-6773
Fax: 503-399-6706
Claire Withycombe
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
At each of the 11 nursing homes in the
Mid-Valley, at least half of their workers
have been fully vaccinated as of Aug. 8,
according to federal data.
But there’s a wide range between fa-
cilities of what share of their health
workers have gotten their shots. A cou-
ple of homes — Dallas Retirement Vil-
lage Health Center and Avamere Court
at Keizer — barely make the halfway
mark. Other facilities have about 80% of
health workers fully vaccinated, accord-
ing to data published by the federal Cen-
ters for Medicare and Medicaid Ser-
vices.
In recent weeks, there has been a
greater focus on vaccination as people
sickened with by the delta variant of
COVID-19 fill hospitals. The surge also
has upped the stakes on efforts to vacci-
nate caregivers. The delta variant has
been
preying
largely
on
the
unvaccinated but also poses a risk to
vulnerable people with weaker immune
systems, such as people who live in
nursing homes.
President Joe Biden announced last
week that his administration will effec-
tively require nursing home workers to
get vaccinated by tying federal funding
through Medicare and Medicaid to vac-
cination in those settings.
Nursing homes are just one type of
long-term care setting and are regulated
by the federal government. There are
other types of long-term care settings,
such as assisted living and residential
care, that are regulated by the state.
Outbreaks, vaccination rates
in long-term care facilities
As of Wednesday, Aug. 18, there were
72 active outbreaks in Oregon long-term
care facilities. Six hundred and sixty-six
cases and 24 deaths are associated with
those outbreaks.
Gov. Kate Brown announced Thurs-
day that Oregon licensed health provid-
ers, including workers at long-term care
facilities, must be fully vaccinated
against COVID-19 by Oct. 18 or six weeks
after approval by the Food and Drug Ad-
ministration – whichever comes later.
In nine of the 11 nursing homes in
Marion and Polk counties, the rate of
vaccination among each facility’s
health workers is higher than that
among the overall population in the
county the facility is located in. In Mar-
ion County, 61% of residents are fully
vaccinated, and in Polk County, 65% of
residents are.
Among the nursing homes in Marion
and Polk counties, the facility with the
highest rate of health workers vaccinat-
ed is Marquis Marian Estates in Sublim-
ity, where about 84% of health workers
are vaccinated, according to the federal
data.
The Marquis Companies started of-
fering vaccines on-site to workers in De-
cember 2020, Phil Fogg, Jr., president
and CEO of Marquis Companies, said in
a written statement provided to the
Statesman Journal.
Fogg pointed to “early and proactive”
communication about the vaccine and
efforts to educate staff on the efficacy
and safety of the vaccine. The company
also owns Consonus Pharmacy, which
was approved to provide the vaccine,
and that allowed the company to “seam-
lessly” provide the vaccine to workers,
Fogg said.
“The leadership at Marquis commu-
nicated the science-backed efficacy and
safety behind the COVID-19 vaccine to
staff, residents, and their families in a
consistent and transparent manner,”
Fogg said.
Fogg said Marquis Companies sup-
ports the Biden administration’s effort
to mandate vaccines for workers in
nursing homes and that it continues to
“educate (its) staff with science-based
information."
The Statesman Journal called all 11
facilities from Marion and Polk counties
in the federal data, but some said no ad-
ministrator was available that day and
most others did not return messages
seeking comment.
Percent of vaccinated workers at
Oregon nursing homes varies
Among the two counties, the facility
with the lowest rate of vaccination
among workers is Dallas Retirement Vil-
lage Health Center, in Polk County, with
51.5% of health care personnel fully vac-
cinated against COVID-19. The facility
with the second-lowest rate in the two
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counties is Avamere Court at Keizer,
where just under 55% of health workers
are fully vaccinated.
Right in the middle of the Salem-area
range is Independence Health and Re-
habilitation Center, where 71% of health
workers are vaccinated, according to the
federal data.
Across the state, there is an even
wider variation in vaccine uptake
among workers in nursing homes. Some
facilities in the Portland area have vac-
cinated nearly all of their health work-
ers. On the low end, 12 of roughly 130
Oregon nursing homes reported that
less than half of their health staff have
been fully vaccinated.
Here is what share of workers were
fully vaccinated at each nursing home in
Marion and Polk Counties as of Aug. 8,
2021, according to the Centers for Medi-
care and Medicaid Services:
h Providence Benedictine Nursing
Center: 75%
h French Prairie Nursing and Reha-
bilitation Center: 82%
h Independence Health and Reha-
bilitation Center: 71%
h Avamere Transitional Care at Sun-
nyside: 76%
h Dallas Retirement Village Health
Center: 52%
h Windsor Health and Rehabilitation
Center: 67%
h Avamere Court at Keizer: 55%
h Salem Transitional Care: 66%
h Marquis Marian Estates: 84%
h The Oaks at Sherwood Park: 78%
h Tierra Rose Care Center: 69%
More information on vaccinations
Vaccines for COVID-19 are free and
widely available in Oregon. You can visit
covidvaccine.oregon.gov/ to find a place
near you to get vaccinated.
If you want to learn more about the
vaccine, how it works and how scien-
tists have studied its safety, you can go
to
cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/
vaccines/safety/safety-of-vac-
cines.html, or talk to your doctor.
Claire Withycombe is a reporter at
the Statesman Journal. Contact her at
cwithycombe@statesmanjournal.com,
503-910-3821 or follow on Twitter
@kcwithycombe.
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