Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1333042
Working Nurse l WorkingNurse.com 11 January 25-February 22, 2021 to memorize important acronyms. Participating in this mock exercise taught me a valuable lesson regarding what it takes to successfully run logistics for a mass event. A lot of it comes down to small details. For example, if you distribute flash- lights you also need to supply batteries, and people who are asked to fill out forms need a pen and a hard surface to write on. WE SET UP OUR COVID-19 CLINIC IN A self-contained field hospital, constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers in a parking lot of our large county hospital. It had been solidly built to hold 50 patients in five pods. Each pod had an aisle with 10 curtained cubicles, five on each side, each with a bed, chair and bedside table. All were wired for electrical power and equipped with call bells. The hospital included restrooms, some with showers; a number of sinks; a medica- tion room; and a break room with refrigera- tor and microwave. Our county has been provided with the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, which is stored frozen and then thawed by the hospital pharmacist to prepare it for use. The vac- cine arrives in coolers, which are kept locked in the medication room. Once thawed, the Moderna vaccine has a shelf life of 12 hours unopened and six hours after open- ing, allowing it to be used for the entire day. Our focus for this first limited batch would be "Group 1A": workers who have direct contact with potentially infectious material, patients in long-term care, and first responders such as EMS workers, fire- men and policemen. When this group has been mostly vacci- nated, we will move on to frontline workers and people over the age of 75, and then final- ly start giving shots to the general public. Patient Pods On Day One, we were lucky to have good weather, because even with online preregis- tration there were long lines. To aid with social distancing, appointments were sched- uled for small numbers of people at 15- minute intervals. We had security at the door to allow patients to enter in groups of 10. Before they moved forward, someone checked their appointments and gave them each a clipboard with consent forms. After hospital or public health staff had verified the patients' registrations, each pod of 10 was seated at an appropriate social distance for further instruction by one of our health educators. The educators explained what patients should expect, stressed the critical impor- tance of their second dose, provided a sheet on managing any post-vaccination discom- fort and explained how to register with the CDC's "v-safe" health-checker app to help track any long-term adverse effects. Patients were then invited to ask questions. The Rolling Cart While patients were listening to the educa- tor, the nurse was in the medication room, filling a batch of 10 syringes. Once instruction was complete and patients had signed their consent forms, each patient was seated in a separate cubi- cle to wait for the nurse, who travelled from cubicle to cubicle with a rolling table, veri- fied the patient's consent, asked about any health conditions or allergies, administered the vaccine and then handed the patient a slip noting the time they could leave. This system allowed each patient to remain seated to be observed for reaction or lightheadedness for 15 to 30 minutes. SPECIAL DELIVERY The vaccine arrives frozen in coolers. Once thawed, it must be used within 12 hours. The work of stopping the spread of illness isn't glamorous, nor are our tools: vaccines, education and disease reporting. However, there's nothing like a pandemic to demonstrate how important those things can be.