‘I am ecstatic’: New Mexico nursing homes eagerly await Covid-19 vaccines

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico -- Next in line to receive the vaccine after New Mexico's health-care heroes are the hard-working caregivers at the state's nursing homes and long-term care facilities.

"I am ecstatic about it," said Trevas Younger, the owner of the Heritage Assisted Living  in central Las Cruces. "If you had told me last March we would still be in this, I wouldn't have believed it."

Younger said that every one of her 29 staffers are willing to get the vaccine.

 "They're telling us it will be Moderna, possibly end of December," Younger said. "Or sooner!"

"It's like a Christmas present in your email box!" exclaimed Kyleen Dye, the special unit nurse manager at Haciendas at Grace Village.

On November 13th, she started a "Covid Unit" on the campus to provide specialized care for virus patients that do not need ventilators.

"We actually came into existence to be able to alleviate hospital congestion," Dye explained. "They're not quite sick enough to be in the hospital, but there's not quite anywhere for them to go."

In addition to the Covid patients, the campus has long-term residents that have not been able to touch or hug their relatives since March.

"They get sad not being able to see their loved ones," Dye said. "Hopefully this is a turning point where we can get to a point where we can have safe visitations."

On Tuesday, New Mexico hospitals received 1,300 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.

"Be brave and do it," Younger said. "We don't vaccinate for ourselves. We vaccinate for each other."