The State of Colorado has declared that ALL home care workers working for ANY agency in Colorado must be vaccinated against COVID-19 and must show proof to their agency that they got at least their 1st shot by September 30, 2021.
This means that if you are working in home care or any healthcare job in Colorado, this mandate applies directly to you. If you are working in the City of Denver, you must be fully vaccinated by September 30th. Everywhere else in Colorado, you must have your first dose by September 30th.
This mandate applies to the entire healthcare field in Colorado: hospitals, nursing homes, home care and hospice, private doctor’s offices, community clinics – everywhere.
Throughout the pandemic, Alpine Homecare’s top priority has been to keep our caregivers and our clients safe and protected from infection. Even though we at Alpine Homecare have strongly encouraged and provided convenient vaccination clinics as early as possible, we have never before required vaccines from our employees in general. Under the new Colorado mandate, however, if you want to work in home care, you must be vaccinated against COVID-19.
These are new Colorado and City of Denver regulations and we and all home care agencies in Colorado, must comply or face penalties. Over the last few weeks, the number of Colorado residents hospitalized with COVID-19 has more than doubled. Most of those who are hospitalized are not vaccinated. The COVID-19 vaccines offer a safe layer of protection against becoming infected in the first place, and very strongly protects you from getting seriously ill, going to the hospital or worse, if you do become infected.
Here are your next steps:
1. If you have already started or completed your COVID-19 vaccination, simply let us know at the office AND provide us a copy of your vaccine card for your personnel file. If you have already answered our call for proof of vaccination – thank you very much for your prompt response!
2. If you are not yet vaccinated, we can help you find a convenient, free appointment to get vaccinated as soon as possible. If you have questions or concerns about vaccinations and the COVID-19 vaccine, you can find a lot of useful and reliable information on the Colorado Department of Public Health’s vaccine information line: 1-877-268-2926. The CDC also offers guidance and information about the benefits of getting vaccinated on their website: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/vaccine-benefits.html.
3. If you are planning to claim an exemption for medical or religious reasons*, the vaccination mandates allow Alpine Homecare to make reasonable accommodations for employees who present a religious or medical exemption. You will need to provide Alpine with a written and signed exemption by September 30, 2021. Any medical exemption form should be signed by your healthcare provider.
*If you meet the requirements and submit an exemption document, you will be able to continue working without vaccination. However, you will be required to follow detailed transmission reduction protocols and complete additional COVID-19 safety training. The protocols will likely require the proper and continuous use of PPE, self-screening for symptoms before each service visit and at least weekly COVID-19 PCR testing (free of charge).
If you have any questions about the Colorado or Denver vaccine mandates and/or your options, please contact us at 303-309-6202 as soon as possible. We are committed to helping all of our employees navigate this mandate without disrupting client services or jobs.
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