COUNTY’S FIRST DRIVE-THRU VACCINATION CLINIC OPENS
Any Palo Alto Medical Foundation patient who fits criterion must have appointment for clinic
SANTA CRUZ >> On an unseasonably warm day in January, Encompass Community Services Senior Manager Lun Wang looks up from her car window — straining her arm to block out the sun — with a smile hidden under her face mask. A cheer was unmistakable in her voice.
Wang was one of the first to be vaccinated against the novel coronavirus at the official launch of Sutter Health’s vaccination clinic, a drive-thru facility created through renovations to what was once a drive-in movie theater on Chanticleer Avenue.
“I feel great,” said Wang, who oversees outpatient programs that mostly serve those exiting the criminal justice system and the homeless. “It feels the same as a flu shot.”
Wang was one of approximately 10 Encompass Community Services employees given their first doses Thursday afternoon. The planning for the vaccination clinic for Sutter Health
patients started with an idea on New Year’s Day and evolved into a dry-run Tuesday, according to Sutter Health Chief Administrator Stephen Gray. Nurses have been training for the last 48 hours — nurses that shared the glimmer of hope that comes with the COVID-19 vaccines through a round of applause at the end of their parking lot debriefing Thursday.
Wang and her colleagues are just one group of nonPalo Alto Medical Foundation medical staff that have been vaccinated at the Live Oak hospital campus. Dentists from Dientes Community Dental Care and professionals from Santa Cruz Community Health Centers have also driven up to the registration tents, checked in and received forms and instructions before moving onto the vaccination tents all the way across the lot.
But Encompass CEO Monica Martinez was thrilled to have more of her clinicians vaccinated. With just a handful of Encompass’s 400 employees in the county inoculated to date, individuals who work in lower-risk situations such as telehealth and higher-risk situations such as congregate living settings all deserve to be protected in order to keep serving the clientele they care about, she said.
“We have been working hard to ensure our community still has access to the behavioral health services that we offer… behavioral health needs, mental health needs and substance use disorder are on the rise,” Martinez said, referencing the emotional toll that the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on those who rely on Encompass’ services. “Now more than ever, our workforce needs to be fit with what they need.”
Helping health care workers
On Thursday, dozens of workers drove through one of two lanes to one of 10 vaccination stations — five of which were open with professionals ready to go because of the smaller group size. On Friday, there will be hundreds, Gray said, that read signage asking they turn their car radios to a certain station to hear a loop of instructions about vaccinations.
“It will say, ‘Welcome to the clinic, you’re getting your Moderna vaccine today, here’s what to expect, please make sure you have your sleeve rolled up,’” Gray gave as examples.
Once an individual has been vaccinated, they drive into a smaller lot with “Waiting Area” signs. As mandated by the CDC, those who do not have a history of reactions to vaccines sit and wait 15 minutes after their shot and those who do have a history of vaccine reactions wait 30 minutes after their shot so that on-site staff can monitor any issues. Those experiencing a reaction can honk their horn or flash their lights for help from nurses docked at a nearby station. Nurses will also be walking around, Gray said.
After the health care workers rolled through Thursday, the first of patients 75 and older — the tier of Phase 1b that Sutter Health can accommodate at this time given its amount of doses distributed by Santa Cruz County — were invited to participate. Gray said that clinicians had been determining which of the 75-plus age group members were most vulnerable and should lead the way for the population; as soon as next week, the rest of the healthcare system’s 15,000 seniors meeting the threshold will be able to call a phone number or make an appointment through their online patient portal.
“You have to have an active medical record number with Sutter Health/Palo Alto Medical Foundation,” Sutter Health Media Relations Coordinator Emma Dugas said.
Any Palo Alto Medical Foundation patient who fits the Phase 1a or 1b criterion must have an appointment to come to the community vaccination clinic. No dropins are allowed.
Gray said it is unknown when Sutter Health will move from the first tier of Phase 1b into the next, which includes occupationally qualified groups such as teachers, childcare providers and food workers.
But until then, Dugas said, healthcare workers included in Phase 1a can still come any time and get their shot.
“We want to clear (1a) so we want to help in that regard,” Dugas said. “We certainly did our own folks but that’s not enough… 1a is going to continue even while we open up 1b. We can do that concurrently; we have the capacity.”
Doing it for others
Wang said that much of her desire to get vaccinated comes from her work with the community, as many patients are marginalized individuals who live in South County and have been hit the hardest by COVID-19 case and death rates.
“Particularly in my leadership role, I think it’s important to role model for my staff,” she said, the sun beating down and bouncing off of the asphalt lot. “We’re in a time of science. There is data. There are experts that have vetted this vaccine.”
But one doesn’t have to be a healthcare leader helping a population that feels more isolated now than ever to want to be a role model for those they know.
“If you’re not going to get vaccinated for yourself, get vaccinated for your loved ones and for the people around you because that’s what’s going to keep our community safe and help us recover from this pandemic as a whole,” Wang said.
The Santa Cruz community itself recorded no new deaths Thursday, but it did record 172 new cases, according to the county dashboard. COVID-19 patients are filling 14 ICU beds; zero beds are available, state data showed.