CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Despite mandates, COVID vaccination rates for nursing home workers lag behind residents, remain low at some facilities

Chicago Tribune - 12/27/2021

Despite mandates, COVID-19 vaccination rates among workers at many nursing homes in Illinois remain at low levels, health officials say, prompting concerns that the rise in cases statewide could again endanger the elderly.

In Illinois, 89% of residents at long-term care facilities and 83% of workers were vaccinated as of Dec. 19 — but some facilities remained far below those marks, according to federal data. While 62% of residents who got vaccinated also had received booster shots, just 25% of vaccinated workers had gotten a booster.

Mark Cooper, 72, who lives in a south suburban nursing home he preferred not to name publicly, said his roommate died from COVID, and the experience was “crushing.” Even so, he said, some workers refuse to get the vaccination, some residents won’t wear masks, and they’re still waiting for boosters.

“It’s a nightmare,” Cooper said. “It’s been a big concern of mine for a year. I’d like to see the mandate take effect. Get it or you’re out.”

The numbers are “unacceptable,” and much more needs to be done, especially with the new omicron variant spreading, according to Lori Hendren, associate state director for AARP Illinois, part of the national advocacy group for people over 50.

“As the variant continues to draw our attention and concern,” Hendren said, “we have to continue to prioritize our most vulnerable residents in nursing homes in getting access to vaccines and boosters.”

Late this summer, Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker ordered all health care workers in Illinois to get fully vaccinated or be tested for COVID. President Joe Biden also issued a mandate for vaccines or testing for health care workers at federally funded facilities, which includes the many nursing homes that take Medicaid or Medicare.

The federal order had been delayed by a judge’s injunction, but an appellate court largely reinstated the mandate this month. The U.S. Supreme Court announced Wednesday it would hear arguments in the case Jan. 7, along with arguments over Biden’s mandate for workplaces with more than 100 employees. Republican-led state attorneys general and others have challenged the orders, arguing they exceed federal authority, and that people have the right to make their own medical decisions.

In line with the mandates, the Illinois Department of Public Health has made it a goal to get all long-term care residents and staff members vaccinated, citing its help to reduce infections, hospitalizations and deaths.

While the program to get nursing home residents vaccinated at the beginning of 2021 was initially delayed in Illinois, it was largely successful, prompting a dramatic decrease in cases and deaths.

Worker vaccination rates started low but have slowly but steadily climbed. But lagging participation at some sites is particularly concerning, health advocates say, because when visitors were banned, workers were believed to be the primary source for spreading the infection.

The pandemic ripped through nursing homes, at one point accounting for about half of all COVID deaths statewide. The rates of new infections and deaths for both residents and workers, after falling near zero this summer, have crept up again this fall, though still far below their peaks last winter.

Some facilities lagged substantially behind the state average, according to federal statistics reported by the state. For instance, just 60% of workers had been vaccinated at the Austin Oasis on Chicago’s West Side, and 64% were vaccinated at ProMedica Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation in Oak Lawn. Neither home returned requests for comment. One out of three facilities didn’t report results, and at some downstate facilities, only about half the workers were vaccinated.

Still, others have vaccinated all or almost all their residents and employees. Elmhurst Extended Care Center mandated the vaccines for employees, and had vaccinated all of its workers and all but one of its residents, co-owner and administrator Love Dave said.

“We obviously want to keep everybody safe,” Dave said. “It takes effective communication and trust. We explained the importance, and eventually they bought in.”

A few older employees chose to retire rather than get the shot, he said. The home is also scheduling upcoming booster shots.

As a stand-alone, family-owned facility, the home stands in contrast to the trend in the industry of large corporate-owned chains. The site can hold 108 beds, but one unit is closed to serve as a COVID isolation area, and about 20 beds were removed from three- and four-bed rooms to make more space among residents, he said.

With temporary staffing agencies raising the cost of wages, Dave said, it’s challenging to attract employees to do the work, emphasizing the need for greater funding from Medicaid.

The Health Care Council of Illinois, which represents more than 300 skilled nursing facilities in the state, supports vaccine mandates for all health care personnel, including for home and community-based services.

“Our members have spent countless hours formulating plans to educate, encourage and collaborate with residents and staff members to get vaccinated,” said the council’s executive director, Matt Pickering.

Unfortunately, long-standing staffing shortages have only been made worse by the pandemic and widespread resignations, Pickering said, citing federal statistics that skilled nursing and residential care lost 14% of its work force.

Many homes have been forced to hire agency staffers at double the cost to reach minimum staffing levels. Pickering called for more federal funding to increase long-term staff wages, training and hiring.

In the spring, state lawmakers plan to consider a proposal to tie increased funding to increased staff levels and quality of care.

For now, the slow uptake of vaccines by workers comes despite state and federal mandates.

Employers are responsible for enforcing the state mandate for vaccines or testing, Illinois Department of Public Health spokeswoman Melaney Arnold said.

State officials said they checked with every long-term care facility to make sure they have a booster clinic scheduled on site. All but 25 of about 1,600 long-term care facilities had a plan for distributing the shots or declined the state’s offer for help.

Cooper blames owners, not administrators, saying they’re doing the best they can, but the wait for boosters is frustrating.

“Like everything else, it’s like pulling teeth,” he said. “We’re supposed to get boosters in the new year — but it may be too late.”

Tribune reporter Joe Mahr contributed.

rmccoppin@chicagotribune.com

©2021 Chicago Tribune. Visit chicagotribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Nationwide News