‘It’s a lifesaver’
Staff and residents receive vaccine at Kendel-Crosslands
KENNETTTOWNSHIP» Hope. That message on Lucinda Kettner’s shirt summed up the feeling as nearly 200 staff and 90 accurate care residents at Kendel-Crosslands Communities, Kendel at Longwood campus received the Pfizer BioNTech-COVID-19 vaccine Friday.
The vaccines were administered by CVS Pharmacists as part of the national vaccination program. The County is in Phase 1A which includes health care personnel and long-term care residents.
After vaccinating the staff, the pharmacists went room-to-room to in the skilled nursing care center to inoculate the 90 patients. Most remaining residents in the continuing care retirement community will be eligible in the next phase of the state vaccination plan.
“It’s been very exciting, very emotional, for some of the staff,” said KendelCrosslands CEO Lisa Marsillo. “When you are dealing with a pandemic of this magnitude, this is like nothing we’ve dealt with before, so it’s a rush. Everyone is thrilled.”
The facility has a vaccination goal of 95 percent for their 517 full- and part-time staff and 900 residents. Next week, pharmacists will return to vaccinate staff and some residents in the Crosslands campus. Pharmacists will return in three weeks for the second shot.
Marsillo said she is hopeful that all residents in the community will soon have
the chance to receive the vaccination and towards that goal, she has reached out to the Chester County Health Department offering to have their facility become a public site for giving vaccines as more become available.
Marsillo said, even after vaccines are given, the complex will continue to take full precautions, which they began very early last year, throughout the course of the pandemic.
As of Friday there had been 21,556 cases of CO
VID-19 in Chester County with 542 deaths.
“Everyone is very excited and happy for this day,” said Donna Taylor, Chief Health Services Officer.
Taylor said while they have had some cases of CO
VID-19 in the skilled nursing center, everyone has recovered. The Nursing Home site www.nursinghomesit. com reports there has been less than 21 cases with up to 12 in staff.
The facility has also given some of their patients Monoclonal Antibody treatment which medical directors have recommended for those in long-term care.
Three pharmacists were
on hand Friday to give the shots. Staff signed up for staggered times to avoid crowding. Those getting the shot had to fill out paperwork and review medical histories for any allergies. The vaccine itself was over in seconds and following the procedure those people waited 15-30 minutes to see if they had any reactions.
Lathie Gannon said she could feel the vaccine going into and down her arm when she received it. The pharmacist told her to move
her arm to help reduce pain from the shot. All staff can track themselves which will help if they have any symptoms or side effects and contact a pharmacist.
“It is a lifesaver. We feel like it is a race against time. COVID is increasing again in the community,” said Sarah Matas, administrator of the skilled nursing
home. “We are delighted beyond words to have this vaccine, and to have our residents get it.”
Matas said the pandemic and restrictions that followed have been hard on patients and their families. Earlier in the year, the facility arranged garden visits for families to see resi
dents but as COVID cases have resurged, that has stopped. Like other longterm care facilities, they arrange Skype and Zoom calls, but she said it’s not the same.
Matas said she’s also happy because the vaccine means she will be able to hug her grandson, which she hasn’t been able to do since February.
“This is good, good, good. We’ve got to end this sometime,” said Antonio Sofia, Director of Rehab and Wellness after he received his shot. “It’s been challenging, but we have a great team here and we’ve really persevered through it. We’re strong.”
Nurse Dawn Atkinson admitted her feelings were a little mixed. She wants to get back to normal, but she worried about the side effects.
“We’ve
been
working
so hard to keep our residents safe, our families safe. It’s one big step and I feel pretty lucky to get it today,” Atkinson said after receiving the injection. “That list of side effects is pretty big, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come
to it.”
Atkinson said after talking to other health care professionals, she was convinced.
“We’ve been lucky here we haven’t had the devastation that other facilities have had,” Atkinson said.