More than $270,000 in federal grant dollars are being distributed to senior living and other long-term care providers to promote education about and increase uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations.
LeadingAge is distributing the grants via a partnership with the US Department of Health and Human Services through the agency’s We Can Do This public education campaign.
“These grants help ensure the health and safety of everyone in our members communities,” LeadingAge President and CEO Katie Smith Sloan said in a statement. “Our members are committed to protecting the health and safety of the people they care for and serve.”
LeadingAge distributed more than $250,000 in grants in February through the program to help providers host vaccination clinics. Recipients also created vaccine-related marketing campaigns and hosted communitywide educational seminars.
Sloan previously had said that even as the COVID public health emergency nears its end, LeadingAge supports updated vaccines to restore protection that may have waned over time against severe illness, hospitalization and death. The PHE originally was set to end May 11, but President Joe Biden signed a bill this week to end it a month early.
Grant recipients include senior living communities, affordable senior housing developments, nursing homes, home health care providers, hospice programs and Programs for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly. The latest round of funding will go to recipients in California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington, DC.
LeadingAge indicated that another round of funding will be announced soon. Provider applicants can request up to $15,000 each to support vaccine clinic activity in their settings. The association reviews the applications and makes awards based on high-priority locations and the percentage of residents and staff members already up to date on their vaccinations.
The partnership is the latest in a series of initiatives undertaken in collaboration with the White House to protect older adults and caregivers from the virus, beginning with rollout of the federal Pharmacy Partnership for Long Term Care in 2020 to bring vaccine clinics to assisted living and skilled nursing providers.
In December, LeadingAge launched its All Hands on Deck campaign to support the White House’s COVID-19 Winter Preparedness Plan to increase long-term care residents’ uptake of updated COVID vaccines. The association also partnered with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vaccine Equity and Awareness Program to raise awareness and access to vaccines in older adults. More recently, the association partnered with HHS and the US Department of Housing & Urban Development to create a portal, open to all aging services providers, for free access to COVID-19 test kits.
