KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Residents and staff at McCrite Plaza at Briarcliff, a senior living community, started receiving the COVID-19 vaccine on Saturday.
"I want to be there for our community and for our residents, and I am glad I am here today to get vaccinated," Nicole Walter, activity director of McCrite Plaza at Briarcliff, said.
They received the Moderna vaccine and a chain pharmacy ran the clinic.
"I got my vaccine, finally," Lauren Bender, Registered Nurse at McCrite Plaza at Briarcliff, said. "I have been waiting so long for it."
Staff received the shot first.
"We are trying to get back to that normal," Walter said. "We want to be there for our residents and if we can help our residents out, this is how we should do it."
Nursing homes and senior living facilities nationwide endured a lot, from losing residents to not allowing visitors. Bender said getting the vaccine will ease her fears.
"It will give me that boost of confidence," Bender said. "I won't have that thought sitting in the back of my head constantly anymore."
For Water, she wants loved ones to be reunited again.
"They haven't seen their families for almost a year now," Walter said.
The goal is to get every staffer and resident vaccinated.
"I think it's great for not just our community but for everyone out there that wants to go back to what the normal was," Walter said.
