Senior Living Facility Will Require Employees To Be Vaccinated

MYSTIC, CT — Masonicare's three senior living communities in the state will require that all its 1,800 employees receive the COVID-19 vaccine, according to The New London Day. Masonicare President and CEO J.P. Venoit said it was the right thing to do for his organization.

Venoit added that he considered this an "obligation do this for our residents," according to The New London Day. He said that he expects he will lose a few employees who refuse to get the shot but that already 85 percent of full-time staff members are vaccinated.

Masonicare operates facilities in Mystic, Wallingford, and Chester, serving almost 5,000 residents and patients a year.

Masonicare follows in the footsteps of The Community Renewal Team (CRT), which employs nearly 400 people, and had already adopted a policy requiring that employees get the vaccine.

The company works with seniors, children, and the homeless, and felt it was the responsible thing to do to protect vulnerable populations and its employees, according to company spokesman Jason Black.

"CRT believes it is very important for all of our staff to be vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus because of the people that we serve each and every day," Black said. "We serve people who are often the most vulnerable – in particular seniors, the homeless, and people with medical conditions that may place them at greater risk of contracting COVID-19.

"As such, if we ensure that all of our employees are fully vaccinated it will go a long way to both protect our staff and to protect the people we serve."