Beatitudes Community

State of the Campus – November 14

I want to thank all of you – residents, families and staff – for your dedication and steadfast support throughout the past twenty months. We have all witnessed the massive impact that COVID has had on all of us – from social distancing, to masks, to vaccines to families being separated and reunited. Our thoughts and prayers go out daily to everyone who has been impacted by this virus, directly or indirectly.

Much has happened this year regarding COVID-19 vaccines, both nationally and locally. Just think, a year ago we didn’t even have a vaccine and now more than 7.8 billion doses globally have been administered. The science and data clearly point to the vaccine’s critical role in protecting ourselves and each other from severe illness and hospitalization. The safety of our residents, families and staff members is and always will be our number one priority. It is for this reason that we announced our vaccine requirement for staff, in addition to the fact that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) required staff in our organization be vaccinated or apply for an exemption. Without this requirement, we would lose our ability to accept Medicare payments.

While we are disappointed to lose any of our dedicated staff due to this issue, we know that vaccine choice is a personal decision. We hear in the media so much about vaccine hesitancy and the passionate opposition to a vaccine requirement. What we don’t hear about is the voice of all the people who are the “silent majority” who think that the vaccines are important – to protect themselves and those around them. What is especially meaningful to me are those who choose to live our mission and our values to keep each other safe by getting vaccinated if they are able. I have received stacks of emails and letters from staff, families and residents who applaud the vaccine requirement, who feel safer because of it and who feel like they can move forward without the fear of COVID.

I want to lift up our Beatitudes Strong family, and especially the staff members who have been with us through this pandemic. I am very touched and proud of how our staff stepped up even more than usual to engage in acts of generosity and support. They are heroes in every way. They exemplify an amazing power of positivity and kindness, especially throughout the past months. They came to work every day while their children or loved ones were learning or working from home. They put their career dreams on hold to pivot for our residents – to deliver meals and Roadrunners door-to-door, to screen each other and visitors for COVID symptoms, to shop for groceries and to help with infection control. They worked long hours to figure out Zoom and the community channel and to figure out how to video so that our residents wouldn’t feel disconnected. More than a few staff lost loved ones or had family members who were ill. Most staff couldn’t even visit their families and have in-person support. Yet, they came to work every day (and still do!) to serve our residents cheerfully. Our staff supported each other, too, in so many ways, too – to lend a hand at work, to crack a joke, to bake cookies or bring lunch to a colleague, to help each other when we were exhausted. I am so proud of our team – they are the shining example of Beatitudes Strong! Please, when you walk past them on the sidewalk or meet with them or see them in the Bistro, give them a hearty thank you for all that they have done – and all that they will do.

Beatitudes Campus staff are now 90.1% vaccinated with at least one dose of the vaccine. We approved religious or medical exemptions for 4.9% of the staff. We have not heard of the intention to be vaccinated for 5% of the staff. Eight staff members chose to leave their jobs. I am so proud of our staff.

This week, we unfortunately have had three staff members test positive for COVID-19 – one support staff in Assisted Living, one support staff from Facilities and one direct care worker in the Health Care Center. All were vaccinated and all of them were exposed outside of campus and subsequently got the virus. All are doing well.

I want to wish all of our veterans a Happy Veterans Day. I salute the men and women who have fought for our country and for our democracy and thank them for their service. Our veterans are the epitome of dedication, selflessness and resilience. Thank you. Stay strong!

Sincerely,
Michelle Just, President and CEO

We Will Do All We Can to Protect Our Beatitudes Family

Beatitudes Campus mission commits all of us to a model of service for our residents – to inspire purpose and vibrancy in all that we do. Our mission compels us to do all we can so that we do no harm to the ones we love and serve. We are so grateful to our Beatitudes Strong staff, particularly in the last 19 months, who have lived out our mission and worked hard to protect our Beatitudes family and ensure the safest environment possible.

Below is a letter I sent to every staff member, informing them of the policy.

I want to thank all of you for your steadfast support and flexibility throughout the past 19 months of this pandemic. I hope that you and your families are doing well despite the many challenges we have collectively faced and continue to experience because of the pandemic.

Over the past month, much has happened both nationally and locally within life plan communities, such as Beatitudes Campus, regarding COVID-19 vaccines and requiring staff to become vaccinated. As we have always said, we will follow the science, and the science overwhelmingly points to the vaccine’s critical role in protecting our residents, our community and each other from this deadly disease.

We carefully deliberated and reviewed recommendations from scientists and the medical community and the requirements from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and we have made the decision to require all Beatitudes staff and contractors to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 by no later than November 15, 2021. Concomitant with this decision, on August 18, 2021, the White House announced an initiative to increase vaccination rates in America that included mandatory vaccinations for long-term care workers in nursing homes. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) followed quickly with an announcement of forthcoming regulation mandating vaccinations for all staff working in nursing homes. On September 9, 2021, President Biden signed an executive order that included the provision that 17 million health care workers at all facilities, hospitals, home health providers, dialysis centers and other health service providers that receive funds from Medicare and Medicaid be fully vaccinated.

This decision was not an easy one to make. We know that this requirement will affect a portion of our staff. But as COVID-19 variants emerge and proliferate, it is critical that we protect everyone who lives and works at Beatitudes Campus. Our campus mission commits us to a model of service for our residents that promotes soundness of mind, spirit and body. We chose to work in the field of aging so that we could serve some of the most vulnerable people in our communities, and we owe it to them to take every measure possible to ensure the safest environment possible. Our residents and staff expect to be safe at Beatitudes Campus and we need to do everything we can to protect our Beatitudes family. We have a unique and special responsibility to keep the campus as safe as possible to protect our residents and staff, especially as the risk environment rises, as it has during this pandemic.

We understand that this may be a heavy and emotional issue for some staff. There will be a very limited allowance for exemptions for our staff from being vaccinated. Those exemptions will be for legitimate, fully documented medical reasons as well as fully documented long-held religious beliefs. We also understand that some Beatitudes staff will choose not to be vaccinated who do not qualify for one of the rare exemptions. We urge those employees to reconsider based on facts and science. We are all in this together. Together we serve our residents and together we have a collective responsibility to keep them as safe as possible. We encourage you to talk to your manager or director, or, alternatively, we will have our spiritual life team of Rev. Peggy Roberts and Rev. Andrew Moore as well as our nurse educator, Karen Mitchell, who can talk with you confidentially.

Beatitudes Campus policy for a vaccine requirement has been distributed, as well as the forms should you seek an exemption.

Please take a moment to reflect on why you chose to work at Beatitudes Campus and with the seniors who live here. The campus would not have a 56-year history of success without the contributions of a dedicated staff. Throughout this pandemic you have demonstrated your dedication and bravery in the face of unprecedented and challenging circumstances. The residents you love to serve, the residents you help to live their best, most successful and engaged life, are enriched by the Beatitudes team. They deserve to live in the safest community possible. We must do everything possible to deliver a safe environment for them.

We are Beatitudes Strong! Thank you.

Sincerely,
Michelle Just, President and CEO

State of the Campus

Dear Beatitudes Community,

In our continued pledge of transparency, I am reaching out to you today to let you know that we have had two fully vaccinated people – one is a part-time staff member and one is a contracted nurse practitioner – test positive for COVID-19. They both had mild symptoms. We have done contact tracing with the residents with whom they had interaction, and, with our increased monitoring, no residents have shown symptoms.

The Delta variant is 60% more transmissible than the original strain of the coronavirus. We do know that there have been reported breakthrough infections among fully vaccinated people. The good news is that the virus in most cases is mild and hospitalization and death among the fully vaccinated people are extremely low. Health experts do say that being vaccinated is the best defense against the Delta variant.

Arizona, with its vaccination rate below 50%, ranks seventh in the nation with the most cases of COVID-19. The state’s seven-day average for new cases is the highest since mid-March and more than double the average from two weeks ago. The Delta variant is the dominant strain in Arizona. With the continued transmission of the virus, it will continue to replicate and create a higher risk that it could mutate into an even more deadly variant.

The good news is that 98% of our residents are vaccinated and 73% of are staff are vaccinated. That’s quite an accomplishment! During this past month, we have held 52 “vaccine conversations” with staff to help separate myths from science.

So please, if you aren’t vaccinated, consider getting your vaccine so that we can end this pandemic once and for all.

Stay safe.

My best,
Michelle Just, President and CEO