Author: Taylor Bellamy

On August 26, 2021, LifeSpire of Virginia announced to its team members that the organization will be instating a vaccine mandate across all LifeSpire of Virginia communities and the home office. This decision was carefully considered for several months by team members in the Home Office and from the communities. LifeSpire of Virginia is following guidance received from The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requiring all nursing home team members to become vaccinated. LifeSpire of Virginia’s mandate will mirror the timing dictated by CMS for the vaccination mandate. This means that all LifeSpire of Virginia team members will be required to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of employment in the near future.

With the CDC releasing a study on August 24, 2021, indicating that unvaccinated people are 29x more likely to be hospitalized and 5x more likely to be infected with COVID-19, LifeSpire of Virginia fully supports the belief that the vaccine is society’s best defense against the virus.

All LifeSpire of Virginia communities have already done a remarkable job in collectively achieving resident vaccination rates over 99%, meaning residents are and have been protected from the most serious illness related to COVID-19. In the last few weeks, our communities have worked hard to increase the rate of team member vaccination, and the vaccine mandate will help further achieve this.

LifeSpire of Virginia’s leadership team and community leadership remain committed to the health and safety of all those who live, work and visit our communities, and greatly appreciate the support as we jointly navigate the pandemic.

Regards,

Jonathan R. Cook

LifeSpire of Virginia President and CEO

On August 4^th and 5^th members of the leadership team from LifeSpire of Virginia travelled to The Summit to meet with The Summit’s team members. While there, the LifeSpire of Virginia team had the opportunity to take part in the 18^th anniversary celebration of The Summit and enjoy a fantastic display of fireworks. In attendance from the LifeSpire of Virginia team were Jonathan Cook, Chris Markwith, Peter Robinson, Jodi Leonard, Lisa Legeer, Hannah Feely, Christine Moran, Deb Ledbetter, Robert Wilbanks, and Derek Meyer.

During meetings with Summit team members a number of items were covered including a projected timeline of events, history of LifeSpire of Virginia, Core Values and Mission, expected closing date of the sale, how and when Summit team members will transition from Centra employment to LifeSpire of Virginia employment, what internal processes and systems will have to change after closing, and a preview of the open enrollment process with LifeSpire of Virginia.

 August 9^th and 10^th, individual 1-1 meetings with Summit team members and members of the LifeSpire of Virginia team occurred. During these meetings the LifeSpire of Virginia team (Jonathan, Lisa and Hannah) reviewed salary compensation specifics and answered questions unique to each team members’ unique circumstances. LifeSpire of Virginia’s goal is to retain as many of The Summit’s team member as possible while taking job history and tenure into consideration.

The next meeting between LifeSpire of Virginia and The Summit’s team members will occur on August 23rd at The Summit. During this meeting Hannah Feely and representatives from LifeSpire of Virginia’s benefits administrator, Scott Insurance, will be going over the LifeSpire of Virginia open enrollment process and help Summit team members begin the benefits enrollment process.

LifeSpire of Virginia’s leadership remains excited to be welcoming The Summit and its employees to the LifeSpire of Virginia family. The Summit’s unique culture and values make it a special community and that will not change after The Summit joins the LifeSpire of Virginia family.