On Thursday, December 15, 2022, Mass Senior Care along with several members and other stakeholders held a roundtable discussion with Department of Health and Human Services Region 1 as well as central office representatives from HHS and CMS.
Dr. Larissa Lucas, Certified Medical Director at North Shore Physicians Group, Kevin Morris, President of BaneCare and Brad Truini, Administrator at Alden Court identified strategies they used that have been successful in increasing bivalent booster vaccination rates among residents. The tips and strategies included:
- Engage the medical director, physicians and nurse practitioners in reaching out to residents and families to educate and recommend the bivalent booster.
- Involve and educate family and resident councils. Encourage families to be involved in the decision-making process for their loved one.
- Continue to offer the bivalent vaccine to those that have declined. Find opportunities to offer the bivalent booster vaccine. For example, when a new resident or staff case is identified.
- Dispel concerns of side effects from the bivalent booster vaccine by having those that have received it discuss with residents and family members.
- Use nursing students in your facilities for clinical placement to provide education and administer the bivalent booster vaccine to residents.
- Assign the responsibility of increasing bivalent booster rates to one clinical that will take the role on as their own and is passionate about increasing the bivalent booster rates.
- Consistent reporting to leadership on bivalent booster vaccine rates so increasing the rates remains a priority.
- Incentives – raffles, competition among facilities
In addition, recommendations were made to the Region 1 HHS staff including:
- Recommending hospitals to educate and offer the bivalent booster, specifically short-term rehab patients prior to discharge
- Recommending primary care providers and out patient practices to take offer and endorse the bivalent booster to patients
Click here to view the recording of the Strategies to Increase Bivalent Booster Rates in Long-Term Care Facilities.
Additional resources for educating residents, family members and staff are available through the We Can Do This campaign. The US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) launched We Can Do This, a national COVID-19 public education campaign to increase public confidence in and uptake of COVID-19 vaccines while reinforcing basic prevention measures such as mask wearing and social distancing.
Through a nationwide network of trusted messengers and consistent, fact-based public health messaging, the Campaign helps individuals make informed decisions about their health and COVID-19, including steps to protect themselves and their communities. The effort is driven by communication science and provides tailored information for at-risk groups.
Abundant resources are available in multiple languages and through grants, pop-up vaccine clinics can be brought to your facilities and or webinars/town halls can be put on with subject matter experts to help reach your staff, residents, and families. We encourage members to utilize these resources as part of your effort to increase vaccine uptake rates in your facility.