We are pleased to be receiving COVID-19 vaccines for residents and team members. Read more for updates.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) News
Westminster Communities of Florida is actively monitoring the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and taking a variety of preventive, precautionary steps to ensure the safety of our communities. The health and wellbeing of our residents and team members is our top priority. We will be updating this page with additional information and communication to residents and their families here, as well as on MyWLife and via mail, e-mail and posting in the communities.
COVID-19 Letter to Team Members
March 15, 2021
Today, we published a letter to our team members from Chief Operating Officer Garry Hennis, regarding COVID-19 vaccines for team members and the state of Westminster after a year of living with the pandemic.
Dear team members,
This month marks one year since COVID-19 first began to affect Westminster. In that time, your actions have been truly remarkable. We have had to change so many things affecting our work and the lives of the residents.
We want to thank you for your dedication and commitment to the Mission of Westminster Communities of Florida. I am so thankful that all of you are here and caring for the residents we serve. Together throughout this pandemic, we have put the safety and wellbeing of residents and team members first.
We have been blessed that our communities have been less impacted by the pandemic than many others. I credit this to you. You have been diligent in taking safety precautions, have been routinely tested, and have worked tirelessly to support our residents.
We strongly encourage you to receive the COVID-19 vaccine when it is available to you. More than 1,200 of our fellow team members have now received the vaccine safely, along with more than 5,000 residents. New research from the U.S. Center for Disease Control shows that those of us who have had the vaccine may now safely gather and enjoy more normalcy in our lives. It is now more vital than ever and more beneficial to all of us that we take the vaccine. In addition to protecting the residents and your family, we will be able to spend time with our friends and families, safely. We continue to offer an incentive for team members who receive the COVID-19 vaccine, with a $200 gift card after your second dose and another $200 three months after receiving the vaccine. The Westminster Pharmacy expects to receive vaccines for our team members soon. More information will be available in the near future. If you have not already received the vaccine, we hope you will “Say Yes to The Vaccine” when it is available to you.
It is vitally important that we all continue to use good safety practices. Please continue to wear a mask, practice social distancing, use good hand hygiene and take safety precautions, both at work and at home. This will continue to protect the residents and all of our fellow team members.
We are going to come out of this stronger than ever, as a team. In the meantime, stay focused and stay well.
Sincerely,
Garry D. Hennis
Chief Operating Officer
You can find a downloadable version of the Letter here:
COVID-19 Letter to Independent Living Residents
March 3, 2021
Today, we published a letter to Independent Living residents from Chief Operating Officer Garry Hennis, regarding changes in procedure after COVID-19 vaccines.
Dear residents,
Over the last year, we have been through quite a lot together, dealing with COVID-19. We are not out of the woods yet, and we must maintain our guard until the spread of this virus is under control. There are strong reasons for optimism, with vaccinations increasing, but we must continue to be cautious.
- More than 6,000 residents and team members have now received at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and many have now received the second. We are continuing to offer team members an incentive of up to $400 to receive the vaccine.
- The science on the effectiveness of vaccines is developing, and scientists are finding that the current vaccines do provide some effectiveness against new COVID-19 strains. They also appear to limit both symptoms and transmission.
- Many more vaccine doses are expected to be available in the next few months.
As Florida and the U.S. continue to reduce our risk with millions of shots given each day, we find ourselves looking ahead with relief. We have been rolling out new safety procedures, as the residents receive their second vaccine and reach their maximum level of immunity. For example, we are now:
- Welcoming in-home visitors to residents in Independent Living and Assisted Living at all times, so long as residents and their visitors practice social distancing;
- Permitting indoor activity with a capacity of up to 50, based on providing 6 feet of distance;
- Working to reopen all of our dining rooms for in-person service, with social distancing and capacity restrictions still in place;
- Lifting our quarantine restrictions for residents who have been vaccinated, including for new residents moving in and those who have traveled domestically by air; and
- Allowing residents who have been vaccinated to resume volunteering throughout the community, while wearing appropriate protective equipment for the level of care.
We will continue to identify opportunities to adjust restrictions, while we measure our safety efforts.
Nevertheless we must not claim victory over COVID-19. We still have to concern ourselves with the risk of new variants and pandemic fatigue. We urge you to continue to be cautious and practice social distancing, to wear a mask whenever you leave your home, and to avoid large groups. We are all our brothers’ keepers, and we have to act together to keep everyone safe.
Lastly, we want to celebrate our team members for their truly heroic efforts in adapting and protecting you and all of the residents we serve, throughout this pandemic. We hope you will join us in thanking them for their dedication to the Mission of Westminster Communities of Florida.
Sincerely,
Garry D. Hennis
Chief Operating Officer
You can find a downloadable version of the Letter here:
COVID-19 Letter to Independent Living Residents
January 26, 2021
Today, we published a letter to Independent Living residents from Chief Operating Officer Garry Hennis, regarding our COVID-19 vaccine progress and new safety measures.
Dear residents,
It is with a sense of relief and a view to better times ahead that today we can celebrate the COVID-19 vaccines that have been scheduled for residents at all of our Life Plan Communities and many of our Rental Retirement Communities. Nearly 3,700 residents throughout the state have already received at least their first dose.
We are now re-evaluating how our practices and safety measures will be altered as each community approaches what epidemiologists refer to as “herd immunity.” Our goal is to achieve herd immunity at each community for added safety, while the greater population slowly moves toward it for the United States as a whole.
We continue to urge our team members to “Say Yes to The Vaccine,” through education on its importance, safety and its benefits to them and to you. To date we have more than 1,000 team members who have received the vaccine. We will encourage them to keep receiving it, knowing the impact that this has on all of our safety.
Westminster is well aware of the spread of new variants of COVID-19 and we are monitoring for what affect it may have on our communities and any necessary safety measures that may be required. We are committed to ongoing communication with you, and will ensure that we keep you up-to-date on any new developments.
In the meantime, it is important to continue practicing social distancing and taking safety precautions, regardless of vaccine status. The COVID-19 vaccines currently in use do not confer full immunity until several weeks after the second dose.
Thank you for your support, understanding and patience throughout the last year. This has been a truly unprecedented time in our history, and we are all in this together.
Please join me in hoping for better days ahead.
Sincerely,
Garry D. Hennis
Chief Operating Officer
You can find a downloadable version of the Letter here:
COVID-19 Letter to Independent Living Residents
January 8, 2021
Today, we published a letter to Independent Living residents from Chief Operating Officer Garry Hennis, regarding our COVID-19 vaccine progress.
Dear residents,
Today, we are writing to you with an update on the COVID-19 vaccine program. Westminster Communities of Florida continues to advocate, along with LeadingAge Florida and FLiCRA, for the Governor to provide for Independent Living residents at CCRCs to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in the same phase as Assisted Living residents.
It is important for all of us to keep in mind that circumstances are very fluid, and we are doing our best. We are working with our local Departments of Health and pharmacy providers to make the vaccines available once released, and important to understand that ultimately they are making decisions regarding vaccine distribution.
Here are a few facts about how quickly this has developed:
- More than 1,500 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have already been administered to Westminster residents and team members, mostly in the Health Center, all throughout
the state. - Nine of our communities have held the first vaccine clinic for Health Center residents and team members. Three communities have had vaccines for Assisted Living as determined by their local health departments.
- This week, Westminster Manor in Bradenton was the first community to receive the vaccine for residents in all levels of care.
As more information becomes available about these vaccine clinics, your Executive Director will be in touch. We encourage you to consider now whether you wish to receive the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available to you.
While this news gives us more reasons to be optimistic about brighter days ahead, we urge you to continue to use caution in your daily life. Remember that even once you have received the vaccine, full immunity may not take effect until after the second dose.
Thank you for your continued trust in us throughout the last year. Join us in looking forward to a better 2021!
Sincerely,
Garry D. Hennis
Chief Operating Officer
You can find a downloadable version of the Letter here:
COVID-19 Vaccine Update
December 30, 2020
Today we are pleased to inform residents, team members and their families that in the near future, all residents and team members at our active living communities, including for Independent Living, Assisted Living and the Health Center, will be able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, as part of the next phase of the state’s rollout.
Because our communities serve residents with multiple levels of care, Governor DeSantis and the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration (AHCA) have included all residents and team members as part of the next phase.
The safety of our team members and residents is our top priority, as it has been throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Westminster Communities of Florida is preparing for and actively receiving the COVID-19 vaccine for residents and team members in our Health Centers, as provided by the State of Florida.
So far, six communities have already received COVID-19 vaccines. Please join us in sharing our thanks to the many Health Center residents and team members at Westminster Palms, Westminster St. Augustine, Westminster Suncoast, Westminster Towers and Westminster Woods on Julington Creek who received the vaccine. In addition, residents and team members at Westminster Village, in Pensacola, were given their first vaccines yesterday. In total, more than 400 vaccine doses have been given.
Today we are publishing a letter to all residents from Chief Operating Officer Garry Hennis. To read the full letter, click the link below:
Westminster Towers Team Members Say Yes to The Vaccine
December 29, 2020
Westminster Towers’ Health Center was pleased to be among the first skilled nursing facilities selected to receive the COVID-19 vaccine recently. They were administered for the residents and team members in our Health Center. Our team members made a video sharing their stories and encouraging others to “Say Yes to The Vaccine.” We especially thank the team members who received the vaccine for their heroic efforts in serving throughout this pandemic, as well as the Department of Health for their support in protecting our most vulnerable residents.
We hope you enjoy this encouraging video from the Westminster Towers team about the COVID-19 vaccine.