Residents at Heritage Village, Heritage Park and Heritage Green are set to receive doses of the COVID-19 vaccine this week. P-J photo

The first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are set to be administered to residents at Heritage Ministries’ skilled nursing facilities in Chautauqua County this week.

Lisa Haglund, Heritage president and CEO, said the organization will receive the vaccines as part of the federal government’s partnership with CVS and Walgreens. Pharmacists from the two national chains are scheduled to go into long-term care facilities to administer the doses to residents and staff.

Locally, Haglund estimates it will take about 30 to 60 days to complete the vaccination process in the facilities that include residents and staff. In the county, Heritage has about 800 residents and between 800 and 1,000 total employees.

The first vaccines will be administered to residents at Heritage Park in Jamestown, Heritage Green in Greenhurst and Heritage Village in Gerry.

“We are reaching out to every family to gain permission to roll this out at our skilled nursing facilities,” Haglund said. “They are the most vulnerable, and a good percentage of them are signing up to keep their loved ones safe.”

Haglund said the organization has personal protective equipment in place for those handling the vaccinations and will have “protective measures in place” to ensure residents are monitored for any side effects after receiving a vaccine.

To date, 22 residents and staff across Heritage’s local footprint have tested positive for the coronavirus. Haglund said most were asymptomatic, meaning they had the virus but experienced no symptoms.

Haglund confirmed she tested positive for COVID-19 in October. “I was very lucky. I had symptoms that were much more moderate than what you’ve seen on the news,” she said. “I will say it was worse than the average flu.”

Regarding the virus, she added, “We are working around the clock. There’s been no time off for the executive team. We are committed to our residents, and we hope with this vaccine we can start to heal as a nation.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday said it could take six weeks to vaccinate residents and as many as 130,000 nursing home staffers statewide. Pharmacy workers who will administer the vaccines will also receive vaccinations themselves.

“The COVID-19 virus is the greatest public health threat our country has faced in most of our lifetimes, and our nursing home and assisted living residents and dedicated health care workers are on the front line of this pandemic,” said Stephen Hanse, President & CEO of the New York State Health Facilities Association and the New York State Center for Assisted Living.

Hanse said assisted living residents and staff are next on New York vaccination priority list and will begin receiving COVID-19 vaccinations in early 2021.

Cuomo said the state expects to receive another 630,000 doses by this week from Moderna and Pfizer. He said New York will add EMTs, coroners, medical examiners, funeral home workers and other group home workers to its priority list.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.