Capri Communities, one of Wisconsin’s largest providers of high-quality senior living in southern Wisconsin, is working closely with Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) and Walgreens to be ready to receive some of the first COVID-19 vaccines in the state of Wisconsin. DHS has officially activated the federal government’s pharmacy distribution program for the COVID-19 vaccine.
“After nearly ten long months of protecting our residents – both physically and mentally – knowing that vaccines have arrived in Wisconsin is an incredible sense of relief,” said Geri Krupp-Gordon Chief Operating Officer of Capri Communities. “We look forward to making this available as soon as possible to our residents who want to participate.”
In alignment with Centers for Disease Control recommendations, Wisconsin is focusing the first round of distribution to residents and employees working in long-term care facilities. The vaccine will be administered in two doses, 28 days apart.
As announced by Governor Evers on Monday, a partnership between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the national pharmacy chains Walgreens and CVS, the program will utilize the Moderna vaccine pending its upcoming Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The effort, which will begin with skilled nursing facilities, involves the on-site vaccination of residents and staff of long-term care facilities. It is set to begin on Dec. 28, 2020.
More information on the timing of implementation at each of Capri’s communities will be outlined soon. Capri’s residents and employees at our Assisted Living and Memory Care campuses will be the priority.
Capri Communities assembled a COVID-19 Working Group in early 2020 who rapidly led the strategy to address the impacts of COVID-19 in the population it serves. Early actions included limiting visitors, temperature screening of essential visitors, exceeding CDC guidelines relative to PPE, sanitization and social distancing, and leveraging outdoors for safely-distanced activities, programming and visits.
Most recently, to further enhance resident safety, Capri has begun the installation of Needlepoint Bipolar Ionization Systems in its buildings. This technology is shown to neutralize and destroy 99.4% of virus and other pathogens without harmful biproducts. “We’ve finished our first installation at Casa del Mare in Kenosha. It was a two-day process, and we’re now rolling out a plan to install this in additional locations,” said James Tarantino, CEO and Founder, Capri Communities.
