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Residents and staff at Trinity Homes are receiving their first vaccinations for COVID-19. The rollout began January 11.

Jennifer Mitchell, director of Clinical Excellence and Resident Safety, says 100 residents and 100 staff were slated to receive the Pfizer vaccine during this initial round of immunizations. The long-term care center is working with CVS Pharmacy to administer the doses.

Mitchell, who was the first staff member to roll up her sleeve, says the vaccine’s arrival is a day residents and staff have been eagerly awaiting. “People that I’ve talked to have been very much looking forward to this day in anticipation that it will help us get back to some normalcy in terms of visits and families being able to be together. Our reaction is one of relief that there is an end in sight for us,” she said.

Mitchell stressed that getting back to normalcy will take time as nursing homes await direction from federal authorities and the North Dakota Department of Health. “After we are vaccinated it won’t mean people can come in for visits right away,” she said. “Things may not change for months.”

Leading up to today was a flurry of interactions by nursing home staff to obtain consents directly from residents or, in some cases, from family members. Those who received their first shot today will get their second dose in three weeks’ time.

Employees at Trinity Homes have battled for months on the front lines, working hard to keep residents and themselves safe. They initiated alternate ways of communicating and keeping residents engaged, even establishing the center’s own exclusive TV channel with a variety of content and programming.