Posts tagged: COVID-19

August 16, 2021

To all Support, Inc. Staff, Providers and Families:

We continue to monitor the spread of COVID-19, including the Delta variant, in our communities. We have updated our operating protocol to require all employees, providers, and participants to wear a mask or face covering. Please continue reading for more information.

In this communication we will cover the following:

1. COVID-19 Delta variant, what we know
2. Support, Inc.’s COVID-19 Operating Protocol Updated 8/16/21

COVID-19 Delta variant, what we know

The Delta variant is the predominate strain of the COVID-19 virus circulating in the United States. This prompted the CDC to give updated recommendations regarding mask wearing for all people, regardless of vaccination status, in areas where there is substantial to high transmission rates.  The CDC was prompted to make these changes as the United States 7-day moving average went from 12,000 reported cases in late June to 60,000 reported cases the week of July 27^th. Additionally, new data began to come out showing the Delta variant is more infectious which leads to increased transmissibility even among those who have received the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Delta variant is spreading faster and more easily between people than the variants we have seen thus far throughout the pandemic.  This variant is nearly twice as contagious as previous variants of COVID-19. Early data suggests the Delta variant causes more severe illness than other variants of COVID-19 in those who are unvaccinated.  As we have discussed in previous communications, most vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccines authorized in the United States, are not 100% effective. This means even a fully vaccinated person can contract COVID-19, including the Delta variant, these are called break through infections. However, evidence continues to show the COVID-19 vaccine to be highly effective, , in preventing severe disease and death from COVID-19 including the Delta variant. Breakthrough cases in fully vaccinated people happen much less frequently than infections in unvaccinated people. Unvaccinated people are far more likely to contract and spread COVID-19 including the Delta variant. Fully vaccinated people are likely less infectious for less time than unvaccinated people.

Previous variants of COVID-19 produced less virus (or a lower viral load) in the body of infected people who have been fully vaccinated. In contrast the Delta variant seems to produce the same high amount of virus in both unvaccinated and fully vaccinated people. However, the viral load produced by Delta breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated people also goes down much faster than infections in unvaccinated people. Individuals infected with the Delta variant including fully vaccinated people with symptoms can transmit to others. The CDC is working to assess if fully vaccinated people who are asymptomatic are able to transmit the Delta variant to others. The greatest risk of transmission is among unvaccinated people who are much more likely to contract COVID-19 including the Delta variant and therefore are more likely to transmit the virus as well as experience severe illness and hospitalization.

The COVID-19 vaccine continues to provide the strongest protection against serious illness and death. Vaccines have played a crucial role in limiting the spread of COVID-19 and minimizing severe disease and strain on hospital systems. Low vaccination rates in some communities have caused rapid surges in cases associated with the Delta variant. This also increases the chances that new and even more concerning variants could emerge.

If you haven’t received the COVID-19 vaccine, it’s not too late to do so. There are many opportunities across the state to get the COVID-19 vaccine. If you need assistance finding or scheduling your COVID-19 vaccine, please reach out to your supervisor or residential program coordinator to help.

Support, Inc.’s COVID-19 Operating Protocol Updated 8/16/21

Beginning Monday August 16^th our updated COVID-19 operating protocol goes into effect. Masks or face coverings are required by all employee’s, contractors, and individuals in our office, during in-person visits and during day services. Administrative office staff will continue to work from home when possible. We will continue to do symptom screening prior to service delivery or in-person contact.

This update will allow us to continue to operate and provide our essential services including day program, in-person home visits and pother in-person contacts while ensuring the health and safety of our employees, individuals served and providers.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to myself or your supervisor. We will continue to provide updates through email, our website and our Facebook page.

Hi Everyone!  Our Day and Clinical Services Team wanted to send out a quick message say thank you for allowing us to continue to serve you throughout the pandemic.  Although our operational capacity has been limited, we’ve been fortunate to have been able to support many people through both our Day Services (on-site, virtually and in-home) and our Clinical services (both virtually and limited in-person).  As you may have seen, Support, Inc. has updated operating protocols, following the most recent Colorado Public Health and Colorado Medicaid regulatory and licensing guidelines.  In accordance with that, we want to let everyone know that we are thoughtfully opening up our Day Services to greater capacities and options.

First, with increased capacity, we are able to offer additional spots to anyone interested in attending our site-based services at our Aurora location.  We understand that it can be an important decision to make, and encourage you to talk with any of our team members,  or your Residential Program Coordinator to have an IDT to discuss coming back.  If you’re interested, we would love to talk through our safety protocols, infection control measures, and fun things we have planned!

Second, with the warmer weather we will be planning, announcing and offering more outdoor events.  All our events will be announced via email or our website and will have an RSVP contact.  This will allow us to approach each event and each person who would like to attend individually to ensure an optimal experience for all involved.  Group sizes will be kept relatively small and appropriate for the activity and the location to allow for social distancing.  If you’re interested in any events we have to offer, please let us know via RSVP. 

Third, for those who are interested and more comfortable with 1:1 services with a Direct Support Professional, we would love to hear from you!  There are so many options of activities that our DSPs can support to help people get out of the being cooped up inside and experience the community once again. 

Some things that we have been doing won’t change.  You’ll still see our staff wearing masks and we will continue to encourage everyone to wear a mask or face covering, even though many of our staff are fully vaccinated.  We’ll still do symptom screenings prior to in-person contact and we will continue to be mindful of social distancing as we plan out activities. 

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me, Gwen Bonilla, your RPC, or one of our staff directly. 

Curt Mower, MS, BCBA

Director of Clinical and Day Services

To all Support, Inc. Staff, Providers and Families:

Over the last 4 months, we’ve been talking a lot about the COVID-19 vaccine. If you are still looking for an appointment or have questions before making the decision to get the vaccine, please reach out to us, we are here to help. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) created the attached  guide illustrating how safe activities are if you have or have not received the COVID-19 vaccine.

As more Coloradoan’s are getting the vaccine and COVID-19 transmission across the state decreases counties are now able to determine their own level of ‘openness’.  Additionally, Colorado has lifted the state wide mask mandate in many settings. We have received updated guidance from HCPF (Health Care Policy and Financing) regarding our service delivery. As we receive new guidance, we continually review our COVID-19 operating protocol to ensure it still aligns with Federal, State, licensing and County guidance. We have updated our COVID-19 Operating Protocol for all employees and contractors. This protocol outlines how we will be operating our offices, day services, and in-person visits. Please take a moment to look over these changes. Please keep in mind that our protocols will be different than what is being communicated to the general public due to restrictions by our licensing agencies and the characteristics of the population that we serve.

In many cases, it’s been a full year of relying on virtual technology for home visits and other in-person services. We are excited to start getting back to in-person visits including in-person monitoring and expanded in-person day program services. Over the next month, your Residential Program Coordinator will be reaching out to schedule a monitoring visit in your home. We’ve created a ‘what to expect during in-person visits’ document which is also attached to this email.  Also, if you and your individual in services is interested in participating more with in-person day program or other services, please discuss this with your Residential Program Coordinator or a member of the Day Services team.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to myself, your supervisor or your Residential Program Coordinator.

Thank you, Laura Viers
Associate Director of Quality Assurance Laura.Viers@supportinc.com

April 2, 2021

To all Support, Inc. Staff, Providers and Families:

In this communication we will cover the following:

1. Colorado COVID-19 vaccine update and where to get a COVID-19 vaccine
2. Support, Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine clinic
3. Looking ahead

1. Colorado Vaccine Update

Beginning today, Friday April 2^nd, 2021 Phase 2 of Colorado’s distribution plan opens. In this Phase, anyone over the age of 16 is eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.  Colorado expects anyone who wants the vaccine should be able to get the vaccine within the next 2 months, this may change however based on vaccine supply and the increased demand.

There are many options to schedule a vaccine appointment across the state. Click on any of the locations listed below to be directed to the sites appointment registration system.

• • King Soopers
  • Safeway
  • Walmart
  • Sam’s club
  • Walgreens

• • Dick’s Sporting Good Park (Adam’s county) or call 720-263-5737
  • Ball Arena (Denver)
  • The Ranch (Larimer County)
  • Broadmoor World Arena (El Paso County) or call 720-263-5737
  • Colorado State Fairgrounds (Pueblo) or call 720-263-5737
  • Tri-county Health Department (Adams, Arapahoe, and Douglas county)

• • Vaccine Spotter is a tool to help you find COVID-19 vaccine appointment openings at Colorado Pharmacies. The website is updated every minute. 

We are here to help you access the vaccine! Please reach out to your supervisor or Residential Program Coordinator for assistance finding a vaccine appointment.

2. Support, Inc.’s COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic

On Wednesday March 17^th we hosted a first dose COVID-19 vaccine clinic at our Aurora office. With the support of CDPHE’s (Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment) Vaccine Support Team we were able to administer 165 doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine to our individual’s receiving services, employee and contractors.

Hosting this clinic was important to our organization. This is a big step in supporting all our employees, contractors and individuals receiving services to get access to this critical vaccine. Navigating community-based vaccine clinics can be frustrating and time consuming. Hosting this clinic allowed us a simple avenue for our constituents to access the vaccine. People with intellectual and developmental disabilities have often been overlooked in both National and State pandemic response. This population also faces challenges in accessing quality medical care in the community. By hosting this clinic, we were able to offer our constituents access to the COVID-19 vaccine at a familiar location, with support staff around they recognize and know by name and most of all we were able to administer the vaccine in a flexible and safe environment that allowed us to support each person and family’s unique needs.

If you attended the clinic, your Residential Program Coordinator or Supervisor will assist you to schedule your second dose appointment.

3. Looking Ahead

We continue to work under our current COVID-19 operating protocol including limiting in-person visits to homes, limited office use by appointment only and limited on-site day services. Everyone, regardless of vaccination status, should continue to follow all infection control practices including social distancing, washing your hands frequently and wearing a mask when in public or having contact with people who don’t live with you.  

There continues to be on-going research into the COVID-19 vaccine. We know the vaccine is highly effective at protecting the recipient from getting COVID-19 and will also protect you from getting seriously ill if you do contract the virus. We do not know yet how well the vaccine prevents you from spreading the virus to others. We are also still learning how effective the vaccines are against new variants that cause COVID-19.

As vaccination rates increase, research data is released, and we get additional guidance from the CDC (Center’s for Disease Control) and CDPHE’s (Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment) we will update our operating protocol and communicate any changes to you.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to myself, your supervisor or Residential Program Coordinator.  

Be sure to never miss our correspondences, follow us on Facebook, be sure you are on email and newsletter distribution lists and check out website for on-going updates about COVID-19 and other happenings around the organization.

Support, Inc. is offering insight into the vaccination process as documented by our Director of People Operations. Read below to learn more about the vaccination process from Nick’s perspective as he received his first dose in the Denver Metro Area.

Hello All,

I am Nicholas Manning, the Director of People Operations at Support, Inc. I currently oversee our Human Resources Department, and have been with Support, Inc. since May of 2015. If you know me, you most likely have met me in my former role as an Associate Director in the Denver/Metro Area.

I would like to share my experience getting the COVID-19 vaccine with all of you. Now, you may or may not assume that this choice was easy for me, it was not.

I am a person of color and identify as a member of the Black community. I have always had concerns about vaccines due to generational trauma and a general desire to not go to the doctor for anything other than a medical emergency. From the infamous Tuskegee Experiment to the misrepresentation of the voices of POC on medical boards, etc., feeling comfortable being on the front line of receiving medical treatment is not something I feel terribly comfortable with.

However, I found it important for me to receive this vaccination , like no other time before.

Here is a bit about my journey.

The reasons:

Black, Hispanic, and Native American people are about 4 times more likely to be hospitalized and nearly 3 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than white people. Yet African Americans have nearly the lowest rates of vaccination among any ethnic group. In fact, white Americans are being vaccinated at a rate 3 times higher than Black Americans. New CDC figures show that of those who have received at least the first dose of a vaccine, 5.4% are Black people, compared to 60% who are white people. According to recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll, about 35% of Black Americans said they don’t plan to get the vaccine, citing fears about safety and concerns that the vaccines.

As I have stated, these concerns are rooted in distrust over time and I hope that my story can help provide insight on the vaccine from someone you can connect with personally, not simply a stat on a website. Additionally, I felt that being a person from my community who decided to receive the vaccine, I could share my experiences with others in hopes of supporting others regardless of whether or not they decided to also.

How:

First, I utilized a link connecting me to Tri-County for an appointment. Now, this process has been frustrating, and many of us can understand how and why. There are a lot of people wanting it (about 80% of the adult population) and the system itself has not caught up to the demand. However, after some time and support I was able to access to an appointment. However, things came up, as they do with most of us so I had to change it. I was scared, and hoped that I would not lose the opportunity. I was successfully able to move my appointment to Wednesday 17^th, 2021.

I was sent an email with clear directions. I was instructed to sit in my car and await a phone call before entering the Tri-County East Aurora location.

I received the call and was instructed to head inside. I was a bit nervous and also excited. I am hopeful this will protect me, the people I care for both at home and our Support, Inc. Community.

I headed in with my official leader from our CEO Bentley Smith, that is available to us.

I got to the doors and moved through the secure building. People inside were respectful as I checked in.

As I awaited for my appointment, I filled out a single page document. Questions we are used to as of now. Have I been exposed to COVID-19? Have I traveled outside of the United States in the last 14 days? Etc. I gave the desk clerk my paper and sat down. Within minutes I was asked to come back.

Alecia, a data collector and registered nurse was my Shot Giver for the day. Alecia sat me down and reviewed my form with me. She asked me about my experiences and educated me on how my answers mattered. She also provided me the attached PDF. She was transparent and discussed that the CDC wants to help us stay healthy as well as gain important information from us individual to track the success of the vaccine. She offered to answer any questions I had before she even prepared the shot. She stated that she wanted to make sure I felt comfortable with the information before moving forward. Alecia shared information about the trend of data to how effective I can expect the vaccine to be. Though early signs suggest the vaccine is effective, I was still encouraged to wear a mask following my second dose to ensure the safety of our community. She informed me that I was to remain in the waiting room for 15 minutes to ensure I do not have an allergic reaction. She also explained I would most likely feel some ache in my arm and the best way to ensure it was minimal was to use it and frequently. She informed me that Tylenol and Ibuprofen were fine to use even though some social media reports said otherwise.

She prepared my arm and I received the shot. It felt the same as most shots, no real pain outside of the assumed pinch. (I was not allowed to record the actual shot, I tried). I received my vaccine dose, thanked her for her time and headed to the waiting room. I waited 15 minutes and did not feel adverse effects so I stood up, got a drink from the vending machine and went home.

My arm ached about 48 hours after with some slight swelling (thought it was my muscles, but nope… just swelling). It has subsided in day 3. I have had no illness reactions as of now. No fever, no cough, no headache.

My experience may be unique. I also believe that many of us read so much on the internet that may influence us to be more or less willing to move forward and having a person who they can interact with share their experience may be more meaningful. I also understand that my privilege of not have any health risks, nor planning on being pregnant/breast feeding, is a benefit I have that many who may read this do not.

Currently, data does not show adverse risk to those who are pregnant or have moderate health risks as the information is still very new, but also remains positive to date.

If you have any personal or general questions about my experiences, please reach out to me directly at Nicholas.Manning@supportinc.com. I do not mind talking with you personally.