Rady Children’s vaccinated 110 workers the first day and 500 the next. It set up the step-down neonatal intensive care unit as its main internal vaccination site, because it was empty during the pandemic. Within a week, County authorities reached out asking the Hospital for help vaccinating medical first responders. Rady Children’s answered the call. “That was the beginning of our community involvement,” Abe says, “and in the very beginning we were doing anything from 500 to 1,000 vaccines daily between Rady Children’s employees and community responders. We identified everyone in high-risk areas, and by January, almost 75 percent of our employees had been vaccinated. We’re proud that we were able to hit that milestone in just six to eight weeks. As the community need continued to expand due to eligible criteria, we continued to expand as well, focusing on the elderly and those at highest medical risk.” The Rady Children’s vaccine clinic continues to serve all eligible patients, now with the benefit of months of experience honing its procedures. The Hospital has partnered with local schools to vaccinate eligible students and athletes, including Francis Parker School, Hoover High School and University of San Diego.
THE RADY CHILDREN’S VACCINE CLINIC HAS BEEN THE BRIGHTEST LIGHT WE’VE SEEN IN A DARK YEAR . EVERYONE IS SO HAPPY AND THANKFUL. —CHRIS ABE, RN, CIC, HEM, VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS AT RADY CHILDREN’S
18 HEALTHY KIDS MAGAZINE SUMMER 2021
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