In our effort to keep our residents safe and also provide our employees a safe work environment, CHI Living Communities is requiring all of our employees to be fully vaccinated as a condition of their employment (or sooner, if required by federal, state or local guidance). This requirement also includes our volunteers, and is in addition to requiring an annual flu vaccine.
While COVID cases decreased earlier this year, Delta variant cases are rapidly on the rise across the U.S., recently quadrupling at many hospitals.
CommonSpirit Health, of which all CHI Living Communities’ campuses are a part, came to this decision after much discussion with public health and medical experts, as well as careful review of scientific data. Additionally, as a Catholic organization, our mission calls for our team to care for those most vulnerable among us, including seniors who are at highest risk. We know the most effective tool we have in protecting our residents and employees from the virus is vaccination.
After this decision was made, U.S. President Joe Biden called for all nursing home employees to be vaccinated. And, in addition to nearly 2,000 hospitals, many non-health care organizations are requiring vaccination of their employees, including Walmart, Microsoft, Delta Airlines, Saks, Walgreens, Citigroup, The Walt Disney Company, Ford, Amtrak and Google … just to name a few among a growing list.
We have asked each of our employees to advise us whether they intend to get fully vaccinated by our deadline and to provide proof of vaccination. This will help us determine any potential job vacancies so our Human Resources team may work to fill those positions. Our sacred ministry is to provide each of our residents safe care and exceptional service, and we strive to continue fulfilling this mission through adequate staffing levels.
Should an employee wish to avoid vaccination due to religious or medical reasons, they are encouraged to complete an exemption form for consideration. Regardless, rest assured our employees continue following all CMS guidance as we have since the start, including universal masking, social distancing, frequent handwashing and other preventive measures to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Because the Delta variant is more than twice as contagious as previous variants – and much more contagious than the common cold and flu, we also are encouraging our residents and their families to support our efforts by continuing to follow all CDC guidance for masking and remaining 6’ apart from others, washing hands often and following other recommendations so we can end the pandemic soon … together!
We are honored to serve each of our residents and their families, and hold true to our sacred ministry of keeping our residents safe. Thank you for your support and understanding.
We wish you the very best health and hope that, by working together, our collective efforts will finally end the pandemic! Thank you.
