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Staff COVID-19 vaccination rates low in many nursing homes in Knox County
The Register-Mail - 8/7/2021
Aug. 7—KNOXVILLE — Vaccination rates for employees at area nursing homes and assisted living facilities lag significantly behind those of residents.
Data released this week by the Illinois Department of Public Health showed 95% of residents at the Knox County Nursing Home were fully vaccinated as of July 25, yet only 33% of employees were fully vaccinated at that time.
Jodi Mines, administrator of the Knox County Nursing Home, said the employee vaccination rate has since climbed to 40%.
"We continually do education on the importance of being vaccinated," Mines said.
In the six Knox County long-term care facilities with reported data, vaccination rates for residents ranges from 79 to 95% , while rates for employees range from 29 to 58%.
Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases and the rise of the Delta variant, Gov. JB Prtizker this week mandated masks in nursing homes and urged owners of long-term care facilities to require vaccinations.
The state is also now releasing vaccination data from long-term care facilities.
According to IDPH Director Ngozi Ezike, the data is being released for the health and safety of residents, to help residents and families make decisions on where to live and to advocate for increased vaccination rates.
"Some of our most vulnerable residents live in long-term care facilities and in order to better protect them, COVID-19 vaccination rates in many facilities, especially among staff, need to increase. The vaccine is the primary way to get to the other side of this pandemic. We need to continue to reduce spread of the virus by wearing a mask and getting as many residents and staff vaccinated as soon as possible," Ezike said.
Mines said all but one of the Knox County Nursing Home's long-term residents is now vaccinated and the staff works with new admissions and short-term residents on setting up vaccinations as well.
While the Knox County Nursing Home will not require vaccinations at this time, the situation will be monitored and guidelines will be followed.
"We will be talking about it as things become more and more mandated," Mines said. "We will have to discuss that and get polices and procedures in place. It's ever-changing, and we will follow the guidelines that are given to us."
The Knox County Nursing Home will host a vaccination clinic from 10 a.m. to noon on Aug. 26 for staff and the public.
"In surrounding counties, vaccination rates for residents range from 59 to 100% and employee vaccination rates range from 28 to 86%."
In no area long-term care facility does the employee vaccination rate match or exceed the resident vaccination rate, according to the data.
Two long-term care facilities in the area — Wesley Village in Macomb and the Henderson County Retirement Center in Stronghurst — reported 100%of residents were fully vaccinated as of July 25.
The Henderson County Retirement Center, which includes the assisted living facility Oakwood Estates along with Oak Lane Nursing and Rehab, also reported 60% of staff were vaccinated at that time.
Administrator Valerie Adams said all employees and residents are encouraged to get vaccinated.
"By educating our residents and families, they understand the severity of not being vaccinated and the risk they would be taking by living in a congregate community," Adams said. "We lost some dear friends to the COVID-19 pandemic and do not want to go through that heartache again."
At this time, Adams said, the facility's board of directors has decided to wait on making a decision about vaccine requirements.
The data is derived from the Nursing Home COVID-19 Public File, a federal resource that includes data reported by nursing homes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Nursing homes and assisted living facilities have the most current data.
The following is based on data for the week ending July 25. According to the CDC, some providers may not be listed.
Knox County Nursing Home (Knoxville)
Total cases: 53
Total deaths: 25
Residents vaccinated: 95.16%
Staff vaccinated: 33.04%
Allure of Galesburg
Total cases: 49
Total deaths: 0
Residents vaccinated: 79.07%
Staff vaccinated: 28.95%
Allure of Lake Storey
Total cases: 41
Total deaths: 4
Residents vaccinated: 89.66%
Staff vaccinated: 36.91%
Marigold Rehabilitation (Galesburg)
Total cases: 123
Total deaths: 30
Residents vaccinated: 91.49%
Staff vaccinated: 35.56%
Seminary Manor (Galesburg)
Total cases: 74
Total deaths: 26
Residents vaccinated: 89.86%
Staff vaccinated: 58.46%
Heartland of Galesburg
Total cases: 46
Total deaths:12
Residents vaccinated 81.97%
Staff vaccinated 55.56%
Monmouth Nursing Home
Total cases: 43
Total deaths: 15
Residents vaccinated: 83.33%
Staff vaccinated: 61.11%
Roseville Rehabilitation and Healthcare
Total cases: 1
Total deaths: 1
Residents vaccinated: 93.02%
Staff vaccinated: 69.23%
Henderson County Retirement Center (Stronghurst)
Total cases: 35
Total deaths: 11
Residents vaccinated: 100%
Staff vaccinated: 59.32%
Countryview Care Center (Macomb)
Total cases: 21
Total deaths: 4
Residents vaccinated: 72.22%
Staff vaccinated: 27.78%
Macomb Post Acute Care Center
Total cases: 33
Total deaths: 12
Residents vaccinated: 62.22%
Staff vaccinated: 58.18%
The Elms (Macomb)
Total cases: 49
Total deaths: 18
Residents vaccinated: 89.71%
Staff vaccinated: 76.48%
Wesley Village (Macomb)
Total cases: 2
Total deaths: 1
Residents vaccinated: 100%
Staff vaccinated: 85.71%
Prairie City Rehab and Healthcare
Total cases: 1
Total deaths: 0
Residents vaccinated: 80%
Staff vaccinated: 60%
Loft Rehab and Nursing of Canton
Total cases: 33
Total deaths: 11
Residents vaccinated: 84.75%
Staff vaccinated: 47.22%
Farmington Country Manor
Total cases: 4
Total deaths: 0
Residents vaccinated: 97.4%
Staff vaccinated: 70.3%
Renaissance Care Center (Canton)
Total cases: 5
Total deaths: 1
Residents vaccinated: 91.07%
Staff vaccinated: 61.45%
Sunset Rehab and Healthcare (Canton)
Total cases: 43
Total deaths: 3
Residents vaccinated: 90.28%
Staff vaccinated: 67.95%
The Clayberg (Cuba)
Total cases: 3
Total deaths: 0
Residents vaccinated: 95.35%
Staff vaccinated: 60%
Kewanee Care Home
Total cases: 48
Total deaths: 10
Residents vaccinated: 95.24%
Staff vaccinated: 64.28%
Royal Oaks Care Center (Kewanee)
Total cases: 105
Total deaths: 4
Residents vaccinated: 59.32%
Staff vaccinated: 34.65%
Hillcrest Home (Geneseo)
Total cases: 49
Total deaths: 12
Residents vaccinated: 90%
Staff vaccinated: 67.02%
Allure of Geneseo
Total cases: 41
Total deaths: 9
Residents vaccinated: 96.08%
Staff vaccinated: 66.67%
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