We are pleased to share that the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine has enabled a handful of in-person activities, classes, and visits to resume at ACC Senior Services. The light at the end of the tunnel is shining brighter as people in the ACC community connect once again.
That being said, this is not the time to relax our diligent efforts to protect our staff, volunteers, residents, and our community. With the spread of the Delta variant, we have continued to employ best practices and follow guidance from the CDC and health department. We have successfully vaccinated over 90% of our current staff and require new employees and volunteers to be fully vaccinated. In doing so, we have joined the growing number of companies, educational institutions, and government agencies determined to win the battle against COVID-19 once and for all.
The data has shown that vaccines are extremely safe and effective in preventing sickness and death. Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine received full FDA approval, and the others are not far behind. Please get vaccinated if you have not done so already.
The pandemic has led to staffing shortages across many industries, including healthcare, retail, transportation, and restaurants. ACC Maple Tree Village and ACC Care Center have been hit especially hard because we are required to maintain specific staffing ratios. When these cannot be met, we have to limit new admissions and forego revenue.
To improve our competitiveness, ACC recently approved equity and retention pay adjustments for staff members who are currently working at our skilled nursing and assisted living facilities. We are also developing new recruiting messages and tools. You might have seen Jay Sloan, our Talent Acquisition Specialist, in a new video describing why ACC is a great place to work, focusing on how healthcare workers can develop their professional connections and advance their careers.
ACC continues to explore the home and community-based services. Lynda Tanner, President & CEO at VNA Health in Santa Barbara, and Judy Thomas, CEO at Coalition for Compassionate Care for California gave a special presentation on hospice and palliative care, services that are commonly delivered at home. This quarter, we are meeting with an expert from an investment firm to discuss the declining demand for institutionalized care and new business models for providing assisted living and skilled nursing services in-home. ACC had been studying these trends well before the pandemic began. The pandemic only made them more important and underscored the urgency to act.
One type of in-home service is ACC online programs. Thanks to the work of Jeri Shikuma, Susan Sarinas, Ted Fong, and Krystal Wu, we have held more than 415 virtual concerts, classes, and workshops in the last 12 months! In September, we asked registrants if they would like to continue with online classes or in-person classes after the pandemic. Out of 173 respondents, 63% said both, 30% said online-only, and 7% said in-person only. In other words, 93% want to keep online classes going! But to continue our online and in-person programs free of charge, we need sponsors. Our goal is to raise $250,000 per year in sponsorships to pay for instructors, production staff, and studio facilities. As you have seen, the ACC Community Room doubles as our production studio. If you or your company would like to help ACC achieve this goal, you can contact Jeri Shikuma at jshikuma@accsv.org or 916-393-9026. Jeri and her team can give you a tour of the ACC production studio and discuss ways we can recognize your gift and/or promote your business during our live broadcasts.
Last but not least, we are happy to announce the appointment of Betsy Donovan to the ACC Board of Directors. Betsy was the Chief Operating Officer at Eskaton from 2010 to 2020, overseeing 30 communities and programs including affordable housing, skilled nursing, assisted living, memory care, continuing care retirement communities, home healthcare, adult day healthcare, and quality and compliance. Welcome on board, Betsy!
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