Drive for 75: River Pointe of Moorhead Reaches 75% Staff Vaccination Rate Goal

Posted on April 7, 2021 by Julie Apold

As we work toward the LeadingAge goal of 75% of staff receiving their COVID-19 vaccination by July 1, we will be tracking our progress across the LeadingAge Minnesota membership and will be highlighting organizations that have reached or exceeded the Drive for 75 vaccination goal. 

We are proud to highlight River Pointe of Moorhead, where 99% of the staff are vaccinated, and take a moment to learn from their success.

A conversation with Carmen Escobar, Executive Director, River Pointe of Moorhead

What is your current staff vaccination rate? We are now at 99%.

What strategies did you find most effective in impacting your rates? Education to staff about the vaccine. We took the time during huddles to go over facts, went on walks with staff and discussed vaccine options. We had a pharmacist available for questions leading up to vaccine clinic dates so that staff could have a private conversation with a professional. We also celebrated as each staff member said Yes to the vaccine. And we had amazing, fun vaccine parties throughout the clinics. We were proud to get the vaccine to keep River Pointe an enjoyable place to be.

Any lessons learned to share with colleagues? It is hard to take the untruths that staff would hear and discuss them seriously. We really tried to stick to only facts, and fact sheets that the CDC shared. I really am humbled every day by the number of staff that received the vaccine. We are a small building that sticks together to provide quality care, and my staff showed up each day during the pandemic and were happy to get the vaccine. I think the biggest thing that we did throughout River Pointe was, we took the time to be there for the staff - we had PPE parties, we had vaccine discussion talks, daily huddle included fun facts about the vaccine, meetings about life after quarantine. I showed up for my staff and they showed up for the residents.

Congratulations to River Pointe in Moorhead and thanks to Carmen for sharing their experiences.