Nursing homes share best practices, challenges in vaccinating staff

Nursing homes in Connecticut are racing to vaccinate all of their workers against coronavirus before the state-imposed deadline in September, but some face a greater challenge than others: Half of the 204 Connecticut nursing homes that are reporting data have staff immunization rates below 75 percent, and a handful are under 50 percent.

Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration has mandated that nursing home workers receive at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine – and be scheduled for a second – by Sept. 7, or their facilities could face fines of $20,000 per day.

Over the last nine months, in an attempt to stave off another devastating COVID-19 surge, several nursing home leaders have taken it upon themselves to implement their own vaccination requirements for staff. Dozens of others had called on the state to adopt an industry-wide edict, fearing staff shortages or worrying that employees would depart for jobs at other facilities.

Some tried to incentivize workers with prizes or cash bonuses. Others held staff conversations about the vaccine, with medical experts on hand to answer questions.

The efforts were met with mixed success. Although the statewide average for nursing home staff vaccinations is 74 percent, some facilities have achieved much higher participation among workers, and others are much lower.

As of last week, federal data show that the range of staff vaccination rates among individual nursing homes varies widely, from 37 percent to 100 percent.

The push to boost immunizations comes at a critical time. Nursing home staff and residents have seen cases rise steeply over the past few weeks. The state reported 118 resident cases and 97 staff cases between Aug. 4 and Aug. 17. Last month, Connecticut recorded just six resident cases and 19 staff cases between July 7 and July 20.

Here’s a look at the highest and lowest vaccination rates among health care staff at nursing homes and what strategies administrators say have encouraged the highest participation.

Chestelm Health & Rehabilitation Center in Moodus is ranked No. 1 among Connecticut facilities, with 100 percent of workers fully vaccinated, according to data from CMS from Aug. 8.

Autumn Lake Healthcare at Bucks Hill in Waterbury was No. 2, with 99.3 percent of employees vaccinated.

Manchester Manor in its namesake town is No. 3, with a 98.5 percent participation rate.

Jewish Senior Services in Bridgeport is No. 4, with 97.4 percent of the staff participating.

Newtown Rehabilitation & Health Care Center is No. 5, with 97.1 percent of workers vaccinated.

And The Suffield House is ranked No. 6, with a 96.4 percent participation rate among staff.