© 2024 WLRN
MIAMI | SOUTH FLORIDA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Assisted Living Company, With Florida Facilities, Requires Staff To Get Vaccinated Against COVID-19

Atria Senior Living, based in Kentucky, is requiring its staff to get vaccinated against COVID-19, including at facilities in Florida.
Chandan Khanna
/
AFP via Getty Images
Atria Senior Living, based in Kentucky, is requiring its staff to get vaccinated against COVID-19, including at facilities in Florida.

Infectious disease experts say the U.S. needs to vaccinate 75 to 85% of the public to reach the early stages of herd immunity, so a Kentucky-based company, called Atria Senior Living, has decided to require its roughly 10,000 staff members in the country to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Atria, a national assisted living and nursing home operator, has three facilities in South Florida — in Jupiter, Lake Worth and Fort Lauderdale.

WLRN is committed to providing South Florida with trusted news and information. In these uncertain times, our mission is more vital than ever. Your support makes it possible. Please donate today. Thank you.

"We have a privilege," said John Moore, Atria’s CEO. He says he got his second dose of the vaccine earlier this week. "We’ve been given priority access to the vaccine and I believe we have somewhat of an obligation not to waste that opportunity."

Moore described the company's decision not as a perfect answer to get the most people in the U.S. vaccinated as possible but in "making it so that Atria residents live in a vaccinated environment and Atria staff work in a vaccinated environment. It just seems like the right answer for us."

Atria is requiring staff to get vaccinated by May 1 at CVS clinics on its properties. New hires must sign a vaccination consent form.

Dale Ewart, the executive vice president of the Florida division of the 11-99 SEIU — which represents nursing home workers — said the union does urge all of its members to get vaccinated, because the damage caused to health, lives and society outweighs the potential side effects of the vaccine. However, he disagrees with Atria's decision.

"Forcing a decision on them rather than having conversations and providing information is not a good way to treat people with respect but it’s also not a good way to get compliance," said Ewart, pointing out that hesitancy is not about being anti-vaccines but about having valid concerns. "I believe as we see more people get vaccinated, as we witness first-hand that the side effects are mild and short lived, if at all, that more and more people will be comfortable and get the vaccination."

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has released guidance allowing employers to require COVID-19 vaccinations, though it recommends exceptions for employees with disabilities.

Verónica Zaragovia was born in Cali, Colombia, and grew up in South Florida. She’s been a lifelong WLRN listener and is proud to cover health care, as well as Surfside and Miami Beach politics for the station. Contact Verónica at vzaragovia@wlrnnews.org
More On This Topic