EASTON, Maryland — The dedicated team at IntegraCare is accustomed to giving 100% while caring for its residents. Now, 100% has taken on a new meaning at IntegraCare’s 13 senior living communities in three states.
Candle Light Cove in Easton has attained a 100% COVID-19 vaccination rate among its team members and has earned a certificate of recognition signed by IntegraCare CEO Larry Rouvelas.
“We take the safety and well-being of our team and our residents very seriously,” said Rouvelas, who made IntegraCare a leader in the industry as among the first to make employee vaccinations mandatory during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We are proud of our team for getting vaccinated to protect not only themselves but also our residents. IntegraCare is a great place to work, a great place to live, and now is a safer place for all.”
To ensure that team members and residents have access to vaccinations in the future, IntegraCare will work with Johnson Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., whose experienced pharmacists and technicians are leaders in the long-term care pharmacy model.
“Our continued focus is on vaccination of our staff and our residents as well as expanding visitation opportunities for our families and residents both inside and outside,” said Loriann Putzier, President, and co-founder of IntegraCare.
Candle Light Cove Executive Operations Officer Bob Scheele said his team appreciated the proactive approach taken by IntegraCare during the global pandemic.
“Generally, the team at Candle Light Cove has expressed a tremendous sense of gratitude in the IntegraCare Corporation for taking the initiative to be a forerunner and helping our community establish a fully vaccinated environment,” Scheele said. “We are all so proud to be a part of an organization that places the safety and well-being of all in their environments a paramount priority.”
Scheele said IntegraCare and Candle Light Cove have provided an example for other senior living communities.
“I have had other leaders reach out and ask how we are doing it, how we are successfully moving forward in a direction many have contemplated but because of the sensitive and challenging nature of the topic, have not,” Scheele said. “I share that we’ve offered incentives and worked to coordinate vaccination after vaccination. Hosted clinic after clinic, had many very candid discussions and spent countless hours diving into the data to help better educate ourselves on the vaccines and what to expect.
“Ultimately though, our team members are such passionate advocates for the well-being of the residents in our community, their sense of duty to those under their care helped cement our course and made the initiative feel almost natural.”
The Candle Light Cove staff and residents continue to work together in making the community a healthy and safe place to work and live.
“Throughout the pandemic, our community has felt like a safe haven, knowing we were each committed to the same safeguards made it comfortable to come to work in even the most uneasy of times,” Scheele said. “As soon as the vaccines were available, that same commitment carried through and our team’s dedication and compassion helped ensure we were a safer place for all by doing their part en route to being a fully vaccinated community.”