Hospitals work out logistics for mass vaccinations
HOSPITALS AND HEALTH systems are playing a major role in managing the logistics of COVID-19 vaccination.
OhioHealth’s nearly 20,000 doses
OhioHealth’s Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus and O’Bleness Hospital in Athens were chosen to distribute the initial round of vaccinations after Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced the first phase of the state’s vaccine distribution program. Ten hospitals will receive 9,800 doses each by Dec. 15.
Dr. Doug Knutson, vice president of quality and leader of an incident command center at OhioHealth, said the planning process to receive, store and ultimately distribute a vaccine began in mid-September after HHS released an outline of its distribution strategy.
Knutson said personnel at highest risk for contracting the virus will have first access to the vaccine, a category that includes both clinical and other personnel working directly with COVID-positive patients. Those working in the emergency department,
as well as professionals who perform medical procedures that put them at higher risk for COVID transmission, such as anesthesiologists and trauma surgeons, will also have priority.
One of the first decisions the health system made in its planning was to purchase two additional ultra-cold storage freezers in anticipation of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine, which must be stored at a temperature of -75 degrees Celsius.
But storing the vaccine is only one part of the complexities associated with administering the Pfizer vaccine, said Dr. Joseph Gastaldo, medical director for infectious diseases at OhioHealth. Once the vaccine is taken out of storage it has a lifespan of about six hours before it becomes ineffective. Gastaldo said the small time window to vaccinate will require a more coordinated process to set up appointments than would normally be done for other types of vaccinations. He said the health system plans to send text message reminders to those scheduled to get vaccinated to ensure they do not miss or arrive late to their appointment.
MidMichigan Health manages many moving parts
Like OhioHealth, coordination has been a key part of the vaccine distribution program MidMichigan Health has been developing for the 975 doses it expects to receive for nearly 1,000 staff members identified as being the highest of the high-priority workers across its six hospitals and seven medical centers.
The Midland, Mich.-based health system last month started working on its distribution program, which will include six stations to screen, register, document, vaccinate, monitor, and then reschedule recipients for a second dose 21 days later. MidMichigan purchased two ultra-cold freezer units that can each store as many as 30,000 vaccine doses.
Dr. Lydia Watson, senior vice president and chief medical officer at MidMichigan Health, said the process to vaccinate high-risk employees is tentatively scheduled to take place Dec. 21 through Dec. 23.
Because an estimated 80% of those getting the vaccine are expected to experience side effects, Watson said vaccinations will be staggered across departments over the three days.
Loyola Medicine tackles staffing challenges
“There are no extra people to go out and get right now because of the pandemic touching everyone,” said Dr. Richard Freeman, regional chief clinical officer for Loyola Medicine in sub
urban Chicago.
Loyola is slated to receive an initial supply of 16,575 doses of vaccine as one of 10 Illinois health systems designated to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine.
Freeman said nearly 300 clinical staffers at Loyola University Medical Center, the system’s flagship facility, are now in quarantine. He said remaining staff has been asked to work longer hours, while plans are underway to ask medical and nursing school students, retired medical workers to volunteer to help.
Freeman said, “It’s a stretch for our folks and it’s the right thing to do, but we’re going to have some very tired people by the end of this.”