Lehigh Acres retirement community to offer COVID-19 vaccine once it’s available

Fountain Crest Retirement Community in Lehigh Acres is trying to make sure that its residents will be first in Southwest Florida to receive that COVID-19 vaccine.

It’s been a tough year for many seniors, but especially those in retirement homes like Fountain Crest. Stephen Eatman is the Vice President of Marketing for Sunshine Retirement Living. “It’s been a tremendously tough year not just for us, mainly on our seniors and having to be protected and put in a bubble,” Eatman said.

So, Foutain Crest is trying to change that by becoming the first local senior community to enroll in the Centers For Disease Control’s national COVID-19 vaccine program.

“We’ve been keeping a close eye on the development around the vaccine and so the moment we figured out what we had to do in order to virtually get in that line we wanted to file every form possible to make sure our community is lined up to help the residence,” said Eatman.

The CDC has partnered with CVS and Walgreens to provide the vaccine on-site for free to those who would like it. “It is something that we are excited about and we’re hopeful that it’s going to be a huge safety benefit, but again a return to normal life for our seniors,” said Eatman.

THat’s the entire goal of the retirement community, to offer normalcy. Which has been difficult during this pandemic. James Scarmozzino has a mother in the nursing home. “There is a factor. It’s, some people get the flu shot and get the flu right away what happens if she gets the virus. Her age she’s not going to be able to fight it off. So I would really be opposed to it,” said Scarmozzino.

For now, Fountain Crest Retirement is still taking the virus seriously. “We need to be thinking other safety and well-being as well. That’s part of the responsibility we are in charge with when we’re interested with being able to take care of this treasured portion of the population,” said Eatman.

There is still no set date for when the vaccine will be made available. One important note is the vaccine won’t be mandatory for the residents of the retirement community.