North Central Health Care (NCHC) has begun the initial phase of preparations to administer the Covid-19 vaccine to residents of Mount View Care Center in Wausau and Pine Crest Nursing Home in Merrill, as well as healthcare personnel at each location. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that when a COVID-19 vaccine is authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), vaccination in the initial phase of the COVID-19 vaccination program should be offered to both health care personnel and residents of long term care facilities. North Central Health Care operates two of the largest nursing homes in Central Wisconsin region.
“NCHC will continue to work diligently on meeting and exceeding infection prevention standards within our facilities, even after a vaccine is administered. We know the Covid-19 virus, as well as other illnesses like influenza, can be deadly, especially for those with compromised health and our elderly,” states Michael Loy, CEO of NCHC. “Our staff have worked very hard to prevent the spread of illness within our facilities and we will continue to do so by following the recommendations set by the CDC to administer the Covid-19 vaccine to our residents and staff. This is a difficult time for our residents, their families and our healthcare workers and we are committed to do everything in our power to protect those we serve and our staff.”
NCHC has assembled a vaccination planning team to address administration, policy, infection prevention and communication for the Covid-19 vaccine to both residents and staff. The team is led by Jaime Bracken, Chief Nursing Officer at NCHC and includes leadership from Infection Prevention, Skilled Nursing, Operations Management and Communications. NCHC is working closely with the Department of Health Services and will follow the guidance of the Wisconsin vaccination program. The vaccine program plans to unfold in a series of phases and will determine the vaccine allocation. NCHC has selected Walgreen’s to be our primary vendor to manage all aspects of the vaccine administration for our residents and staff in our long term care facilities. We have also received confirmation that NCHC is now approved to be our own vaccinators. We hope to collaborate with our community partners but we are ready if the need does arise.
Social work staff at both nursing homes have begun communication to residents and representatives and are currently working to secure consent or declination forms for the 219 residents currently cared for within the two facilities. Administration of the vaccine will be performed in a tiered approach, with nursing home residents receiving the vaccine first, following by direct care staff at each facility.
NCHC is in the process of creating videos, virtual meetings and creating an online resource library online for residents, families and staff to help answer questions they may have about the Covid-19 vaccine. In March, NCHC created a dedicated online page at www.norcen.org/Family to answer questions and provide updates to families about operations, frequently asked questions and resources.
Mount View Care Center and Pine Crest both conduct twice weekly Covid-19 testing of staff and once weekly testing of residents. These results are reported publicly on the NCHC website and families also receive phone calls weekly with updates on operations and any positive cases within the facilities.
About North Central Health Care-North Central Health Care provides compassionate, high-quality care for individuals and families with mental health, recovery and skilled nursing needs in Marathon, Langlade and Lincoln counties. Services are provided for mental health, substance abuse, crisis, developmental disabilities, adult protection, aquatic physical therapy and skilled nursing care. North Central Health Care operates two skilled nursing facilities, Mount View Care Center in Wausau and Pine Crest Nursing Home in Merrill.