Since Governor Inslee announced the October 18, 2021, vaccination deadline, WHCA has had concerns that one of the unintended consequences of the mandate will be even greater staffing shortages. Recent conversations with WHCA members have confirmed those fears. While overall long term care facility staff vaccination rates have greatly improved over the last month, there is still a significant portion of long term care facility staff that are not yet “fully vaccinated.” Many of these employees have received one shot and are awaiting their second shot. Many long term care providers fear that they will not have sufficient staff on October 18 due to these partially vaccinated employees' inability to work. Much of the unease surrounding the impending October 18 deadline could be eliminated if these workers could stay on the job. To that end, WHCA has sent a letter to Governor Inslee asking him to reconsider his “fully vaccinated” requirement. It is critically important that WHCA has a full understanding of each facility’s staffing status as of October 18, 2021. Without this information, it is difficult to pressure the state to alter its position. Therefore, we urge you to complete and submit this very short six question survey asking important questions about the vaccination deadline and its impact on staffing. If you have questions, please reach out to WHCA CEO Robin Dale.

Last week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released guidance for nursing home strike team funding. A total of $500 million, made available through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, is being awarded through the CDC’s Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) Cooperative Agreement, for the Nursing Home & Long-Term Care Facility Strike Team and Infrastructure Project. It is intended to help assist recipients with funding to support long term care facilities during their response to COVID-19 as well as to build and maintain infection prevention infrastructure necessary to support residents.

We continue to work with focused intent to inform the Governor and policymakers about the crisis in long term care staffing you are experiencing. Providers have informed us that the October 18 deadline for staff vaccinations is exacerbating the problem, and we continue to seek allowances for new staff, and those staff who will have started but not completed required vaccines. Click here for the Seattle Times article from October 10, where Robin Dale details the issue.

WHCA continues to post resources and information as it becomes available on our website. If you have questions or need additional information, please call the WHCA office at (800) 562-6170.