On Wednesday, August 18, 2021, Pinnacle Living CEO Chris Henderson and Cedarfield CNA Tonya Phillips were interviewed by WTVR in response to President Biden’s recent announcement that his administration will require nursing home staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition for facilities to continue receiving federal Medicare and Medicaid funding.
While the new federal mandate is being set up for the end of September, Cedarfield and all Pinnacle Living communities have already set up a requirement for all team members and contractors to be fully vaccinated by Monday, September 13, 2021.
As you know, the safety and well-being of our residents, team members, their families, visitors, and volunteers has been our paramount concern. Prior to the federal mandate, the Cedarfield staff vaccination rate was significantly above national senior living averages — helping to protect our community from COVID-19.
Going forward, we will continue to work with unvaccinated team members to secure COVID-19 vaccinations so their employment with Cedarfield will not be impacted by this policy.
The highly contagious COVID-19 Delta variant now accounts for about 83 percent of infections diagnosed in the United States. As a reminder, our Cedarfield COVID-19 Preparedness team is working closely with Richmond/Henrico Health District of the Virginia Department of Health (VDH). Early indications from health department officials are that potential spread of the virus is very low because of the precautions already in place.
We must continue to vigilantly practice the following preventive measures:
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Michael Shaw, Executive Director at (804) 474-8850.
