[ad_1]
SANTA CRUZ – On an unusually warm January day for the season, Lun Wang, Senior Director of Community Services at Encompass, looks up from her car window – reaching out to block out the sun – with a smile hidden under his face mask. A cheer was undeniable in his voice.
Wang was one of the first to be vaccinated against the novel coronavirus at the official launch of the Sutter Health Vaccination Clinic, a drive-thru service created through the renovation of what was once a drive-in theater on Chanticleer Avenue .
“I feel good,” said Wang, who oversees outpatient programs which primarily cater to those exiting the criminal justice system and the homeless. “It looks like a flu shot.”
Wang was one of 10 Encompass community service workers to receive their first doses Thursday afternoon. Planning for Sutter Health’s patient vaccination clinic started with an idea on New Years Day and turned into a dry Tuesday, according to Sutter Health’s chief administrator Stephen Gray. Nurses have been training for 48 hours – nurses who shared the silver lining that comes with COVID-19 vaccines through a round of applause at the end of their debriefing Thursday.
Wang and his colleagues are just a group of non-Palo Alto Medical Foundation medical staff who have been vaccinated on the campus of Live Oak Hospital. Dentists from Dientes Community Dental Care and professionals from the Santa Cruz Community Health Centers also went to the registration tents, checked in, and received forms and instructions before moving to the vaccination tents throughout the trip. ground.
But Encompass CEO Monica Martinez was thrilled to see more of her clinicians vaccinated. With only a handful of the 400 Encompass employees in the county vaccinated to date, people working in low risk situations such as telehealth and high risk situations such as collective living spaces all deserve to be. protected in order to continue to serve the customers they need. by the way, she said.
“We have worked hard to make sure our community always has access to the behavioral health services we provide … behavioral health needs, mental health needs and substance use disorders are on the increase,” Martinez said, referring to the emotional toll the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on those who depend on Encompass’s services. “Today more than ever, our workforce must be adapted to their needs.”
Help health workers
Dozens of workers crossed one of the two lanes on Thursday to one of 10 vaccination posts – five of which were open with professionals ready to go due to the small size of the group. On Friday, there will be hundreds, Gray said, who will read signs asking them to turn their car radios to a certain station to hear a loop of immunization instructions.
“He’ll say, ‘Welcome to the clinic, you get your Moderna vaccine today, here’s what to expect, please make sure you have your sleeve rolled up,’” Gray gave as examples.
Once a person has been vaccinated, they go to a smaller lot with “Waiting Zone” signs. As mandated by the CDC, those with no history of vaccine reactions sit and wait 15 minutes after their injection and those with a history of vaccine reactions wait 30 minutes after their injection so staff on site can monitor any problems. Those who have a reaction can honk their horns or flash their lights to get help from nurses docked at a nearby station. Nurses will be walking around as well, Gray said.
After healthcare workers move through Thursday, the first of patients aged 75 and over – the phase 1b level Sutter Health can accommodate at this time given the amount of doses being distributed by the County of Santa Cruz – was invited to participate. Gray said clinicians have determined which of the 75+ are most vulnerable and should lead the way for the people; Starting next week, the remaining 15,000 elderly people in the healthcare system who reach the threshold will be able to call a phone number or make an appointment through their online patient portal.
“You must have an active medical record number with Sutter Health / Palo Alto Medical Foundation,” said Emma Dugas, media relations coordinator for Sutter Health.
Any Palo Alto Medical Foundation patient who meets Phase 1a or 1b criteria must have an appointment to attend the community vaccination clinic. No drop-in is allowed.
Gray said it is not known when Sutter Health will transition from the first level of Phase 1b to the next, which includes professionally qualified groups such as teachers, child care providers and health workers. food. But until then, Dugas said, healthcare workers included in phase 1a can still come anytime and get vaccinated.
“We want to erase (1a) so we want to help in that regard,” Dugas said. “We certainly made our own team, but that’s not enough… 1a will continue even as we open 1b. We can do this simultaneously; we have the capacity.
Do it for others
Wang said much of his desire for the vaccine came from his work with the community, as many patients are marginalized people who live in South County and have been hit hardest by COVID-19 cases. and death rates.
“Particularly in my leadership role, I think it’s important to be a role model for my staff,” she said, the sun beating and bouncing over the asphalt terrain. “We are in an age of science. There is data. There are experts who have approved this vaccine. “
But you don’t have to be a health leader to help a population that feels more isolated than ever to want to be a role model for those they know.
“If you are not getting vaccinated for yourself, get vaccinated for your loved ones and for the people around you, because that is what will keep our community safe and help us recover from this pandemic. as a whole, ”Wang said.
The community of Santa Cruz itself recorded no new deaths on Thursday, but it recorded 172 new cases, according to the county’s scoreboard. COVID-19 patients occupy 14 intensive care beds; no beds are available, according to state data.
In numbers
Total number of cases: 11,447
Active cases: 2811
Recoveries: 8,525
Deaths: 111
Current ICU hospitalizations: 14
Hospitalizations: 337
Open intensive care beds: 1
Negative tests: 101037
[ad_2]
Source link