Oregon was in a panic in March when two senior care residents were diagnosed with coronavirus infections, the first of thousands to be infected in the months since.
Caregivers were reusing masks, state officials were figuring out policies on the fly and protective equipment and coronavirus tests were in woefully short supply.
But in a sign of how far things have come in the last nearly 300 days, 90% of the Edward C. Allworth Veterans’ Home in Lebanon residents got the first of two Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine shots Saturday, along with 60% of the staff.
“‘Grateful’ is the word, as a long and difficult year draws to a close,” said Kelly Fitzpatrick, director of the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
Eight of the 21 veterans home residents who got the coronavirus died of the disease.
Across the state, more than 700 people connected to congregate care settings -- most of them licensed facilities for the elderly -- have died after contracting the virus, including more than 30 residents at Healthcare at Foster Creek in Portland.
But the early outbreak at the veterans home signaled that the coronavirus was putting the most vulnerable Oregonians at risk.
The Edward C. Allworth Veterans’ Home in Lebanon, Oregon, where there is an outbreak of coronavirus. March 18, 2020. Beth Nakamura/Staff
As state and local officials tried to figure out what to do about the outbreak and how to get people tested and get them supplies, young caregivers like Alicia Forseth reported to work every day.
In March, Forseth, 21, described mayhem at the veterans home. She was told to spray down her only mask with disinfectant between residents and hustled from room to room through the understaffed building to check on her patients. She faced exhaustion by the end of every day while knowing she could become infected herself.
That’s why getting a shot over the weekend held a special meaning for Forseth.
Alicia Forseth, 21, is working tirelessly at the Edward C. Allworth VeteransÕ Home in Lebanon, Oregon, where she is providing direct care to veterans with coronavirus. Forseth is shown from the window of her temporary housing, where she lives in isolation with other care providers in between shifts. March 18, 2020. Beth Nakamura/Staff
She said she was “super excited” to be among the 116 veterans home workers who agreed to get the vaccine Saturday. The same number of residents – 116 – also got the vaccine.
“I’m glad that this is the beginning of the end,” Forseth said.
Forseth just finished her first semester of nursing school and is now working one day a week at the Lebanon nursing home. Life there has transitioned into a new and stable normal, she said. Residents’ spirits are up, protective equipment is never in short supply and staff members are regularly tested for the coronavirus, she said.
A Veterans’ Affairs spokesman said that while the state agency is “thrilled” about the vaccine, the home is still following all necessary safety protocols and “will continue to do so.”
William Lapschies, 104, was among the residents who got a vaccine. Lapschies, a World War II veteran, recovered from a coronavirus infection in March -- one of the oldest survivors of the disease in the world.
“It seems like forever ago,” said his granddaughter, Jamie Yutzie of Sublimity.
William Lapschies celebrates his 104th birthday at the Oregon Veterans' Home in Lebanon, Oregon, April 1, 2020 Beth Nakamura/Staff
She cried as she recalled the first time she was able to visit inside the veterans home, in November. She said she hugged him and held his hand.
She laughed as she recalled giving him a haircut. “He was getting a little shaggy,” she said.
She and her mother last visited Lapschies on the day before Christmas, bringing decorations for his room and a green-and-red elf hat.
The vaccines are currently voluntary, though Forseth said the facility tried to motivate staff with a raffle for those who did get one. The second round of vaccines for those who got the first will come within 21 days, the veterans’ home spokesman said.
Forseth’s is scheduled for Jan. 16.
-- Fedor Zarkhin | fzarkhin@oregonian.com | 503-294-7674