Not Vaccinated? No entry.

A Granville police officer was initially refused entry at the Granville Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation due to vaccination status while attempting to conduct a welfare check on Sept. 29.

The officer was dispatched at 10:30 a.m. to the Madison Street facility for a welfare check requested by the daughter of a resident due to “ongoing lack of care,” which the daughter said the head of nursing is looking into.

Upon arrival, the officer was approached by the building administrator, a woman, who asked the officer, “what are you doing?” The officer advised the administrator he was there for a welfare check and he was cut off by the administrator asking if the officer was vaccinated.

The officer told the administrator that he was not vaccinated, leading to the administrator opening the entrance door and demanding the officer leave the building immediately.

After explaining to the administrator he was responding to a 911 call for a welfare check at the nursing and rehabilitation center and he would not be leaving, the officer was told by the administrator that it’s “New York State law from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),” and that the officer could not be in the building until he was vaccinated.

The officer advised the administrator that is not the case and he would not be leaving without knowing the woman they were responding to assist was safe and in good health.

The administrator requested a staff member’s assistance in dealing with the officer and the staff member was overheard questioning if the vaccine mandate applies to first responders. The staff member and the administrator advised the officer that they would need to find the paperwork to clarify.

The officer chimed in and said that clarifying would have been a better option compared with starting an altercation with the police and attempting to kick them out of the building.

At this point, a staff member, a 33-year-old woman, came out and inquired which resident the officer was looking to check on. The officer checked on the elderly woman they were there to see, with the woman being fine and in good spirits, and advised the chief of police of what happened.

All of the research conducted by the administrator and staff member on the matter did not produce any information regarding first responders and vaccinations.

The daughter who called the police for the welfare check was advised of the situation. Later on in the day, it was confirmed that first responders are allowed in the building to conduct welfare checks and for emergencies.

As seen on NYVT Media