蜜柚直播

Mildred has dementia and has been largely isolated from the outside world for the past year. The rapid spread of COVID-19 has ravaged long-term-care and assisted-living facilities throughout the state, forcing 蜜柚直播鈥檚 most vulnerable into isolation as they wait for their chance to get vaccinated.

鈥淪he鈥檒l call me in the evening and say, 鈥楥ome get me. Get me out of here. They have me in jail. They won鈥檛 let me do anything,鈥欌�� said Bill Loveridge, Mildred鈥檚 son. 鈥淓very day I have to try to explain it to her again.鈥�

Bill said that while the arrival of a vaccine and a promise that congregate care facilities would be the first in line brought him hope, a slew of conflicting information and a lack of communication by state and federal officials has further prolonged the vaccination rollout for 蜜柚直播鈥檚 most at-risk residents.

In Pima County alone, adults over the age of 65 make up 80% of COVID-19 related deaths and 41% of hospitalizations. Of the 1,422 deaths among county residents, over 350 鈥� or 25% 鈥� have been residents of long-term-care facilities.

The Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program, a partnership between the Centers for Disease Control, CVS and Walgreens, is facilitating on-site vaccination of residents and workers at over 2,000 蜜柚直播 skilled-nursing facilities.

All of 蜜柚直播鈥檚 long-term-care facilities have already received at least their first round of vaccinations and vaccinations at assisted-living facilities are underway, according to 蜜柚直播 Department of Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ. The state could not provide a list of which facilities have and have not been vaccinated.

Pima County officials said Friday that despite their efforts to obtain it, they also do not have access to federal data for congregate living facilities vaccinations. CVS and Walgreens officials did not immediately respond to requests for information, but according to the CDC website, there have been 17,290 doses administered in 蜜柚直播 since Dec. 27.

Bill said the management at Cascades of 蜜柚直播, the facility where Mildred lives, has been working diligently to get answers, but they have not been given a timeline for when their residents and staff will be vaccinated. Rather than wait, Bill decided to try and get his mom registered through Pima County and 蜜柚直播 Medical Center, but has not gotten an appointment yet.

The most frustrating part of this process for many elderly residents has been the lack of information, says Dana Kennedy, the AARP director for 蜜柚直播.

鈥淎cross the country, we are advocating for more transparency and for the release of information,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e thought this would be a more efficient and timely process to vaccinate these facilities. Did they overpromise?鈥�

At the same time, Kennedy said, the state and county health departments continue to open up vaccinations for new groups, which continues to take away from people over the age of 65 and those who live in congregate care.

鈥淭he state went ahead and opened up these mega-sites, so we started vaccinating all these people all at once, but we haven鈥檛 even finished vaccinating the people that are highest risk. And there is a lot of frustration with that process,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the older population that is more likely to have a bad outcome. So when you have a healthy person jumping the line and getting a vaccine when they鈥檙e not supposed to yet, they鈥檙e basically taking a vaccine from somebody who really needs it and who may not have a healthy outcome.鈥�

Susan Ernsky said she has been eagerly waiting for the chance to have her mother, Lee Keaton, vaccinated. Like many other residents of assisted-living facilities, Keaton could not be with her family for the holidays and will now celebrate her 91st birthday, Jan. 24, alone.

鈥淭here are times when I just want to cry,鈥� Ernsky said. 鈥淗er hearing is very bad, so it鈥檚 nearly impossible to have a conversation with her over the phone. I try to check in with her every day, but the conversation is limited to the essentials because it鈥檚 so hard to communicate with her. It鈥檚 been extremely isolating for her, and she鈥檚 declined a lot in the last year I think partly because of that lack of interaction.鈥�

Ernsky said Keaton can鈥檛 walk on her own and needs assistance in almost every aspect of her daily life, except for eating.

Because of the decline in health that she鈥檚 experienced in the last year, Ernsky will be moving her to a smaller facility where she can get more one-on-one care, where luckily, she is scheduled to receive a vaccine on Feb. 3.

While many assisted-living facilities continue to wait for a vaccine clinic, other facilities, like the one that Keaton will move to, have announced that they have already received or are scheduled to receive their first dose of the vaccine. 蜜柚直播 Place at Ventana Canyon, for example, will receive their first doses on Sunday, Jan. 24.

It鈥檚 unclear what the timeline looks like for the remainder of assisted living facilities, but state and county officials continue to encourage community members to be patient.