Residents, employees at North Naples senior living community get COVID-19 vaccine

Residents who live at Vi at Bentley Village in North Naples received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine Saturday.

Olive Hunter, 88, has been there 10 years. She, fellow residents and employees rolled up their sleeves to be the first to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

“It’s amazing. It’s just mind-boggling,” Hunter said.

For many, the vaccine is a sign of hope that things could slowly begin to go back to normal.

“Well, we certainly hope so, waiting to see what happens when we all get our injection,” Hunter said.

Those in Hunter’s age group have been some of the most isolated during the pandemic.

Jonathon Albert, a social services manager, received the vaccine. He has personally seen what isolation has done to residents this year.

“It’s been difficult,” Albert said. “It’s been a whole different year that we’ve been dealing with, and so there’s a lot of residents dealing with feeling sad.”

With Albert working so closely with the residents at the senior community, he too was able to get the vaccine. He says when they found out they could get vaccinated, there wasn’t much hesitation from residents and their families to make it happen.

“They said, ‘When? Hurry up, and let’s get it,’” Albert explained. “They’re excited. They want their loved ones to get vaccinated, so again they can see each other.”

Randy Richardson, president of Vi at Bentley Village, said the vaccine is serving as a light at the end of the tunnel for those living and working in the community.

“It’s been over nine months, and our employees have done a remarkable job managing through this pandemic, and our residents have been terrific too,” Richardson said. “They’ve been patient and worked with us to do everything they can to keep people safe.”