More than 150 assisted living communities are being called out — unfairly, they say — by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and the state’s Department of Aging, according to local media reports.
The department on Thursday released a list of facilities that they said either have not opted into the state’s vaccine program or have not confirmed how they are administering vaccines. But some operators said that the lists is inaccurate.
The Office of the Aging compiled the list of 155 assisted living communities and 52 nursing homes that the agency said have not signed up for what’s called the “Covid Maintenance Program,” designed to make sure new senior living and nursing home residents and new staff members have access to a vaccine. The agency reportedly sent the survey to operators in the state, and if a facility did not respond, then its name automatically was put on the list. Yet several facilities are claiming their inclusion is a mistake.
“Since we’ve completed the survey four times, no reason we should be on any list but a good list,” John Stone, administrator of Merit House in Toledo, OH, which was included on the list, told 24 News. Stone said that residents of his facility, which offers assisted living and skilled care, are fully vaccinated after he held three CVS Health vaccination clinics: one each in December, January and February.
“100% of our residents have been vaccinated, and probably upwards of 60% of staff. We took a pretty aggressive stance to get everyone vaccinated and get everyone on board,” he told the news agency.
Similarly, the Cottage at Wexner Heritage Village in Columbus, OH, told WBNS News that it vaccinated 90% of its residents on Jan. 7.
“It was of course offered to everyone,” said Chris Christian, the facility’s president and CEO. “For our organization to be on the list, we knew clearly there was an error and something they got mixed up somewhere or some wires were crossed.”
Many operators said they hadn’t received the survey, prompting LeadingAge Ohio President and CEO Kathryn Brod to condemn the governor for publishing the list.
“Nearly every LeadingAge Ohio member appearing on the list had a plan in place for offering the vaccine to new residents and staff,” Brod told McKnight’s Senior Living in a statement. “Many of the organizations on the list are leaders among their peers, with vaccination rates among residents and staff far above the state averages.”
Brod noted that many members confirmed that their issues stemmed from the process of reporting vaccine plans to the state, particularly life plan communities (also known as continuing care retirement communities) that offer both assisted living and skilled nursing at the same site.
“Gov. DeWine’s statement of frustration for providers working tirelessly to protect high-risk Ohioans was profoundly disheartening, particularly given the ease with which the reporting issue was rectified,” she said.
