from vacations to vaccinations
The Big Red Kidney Bus went back on the road, but this time with a different job – giving vulnerable and at-risk communities an opportunity to have the COVID-19 vaccine.
The bus, which normally travels to holiday destinations to give patients kidney dialysis, first visited the Police and Citizens Youth Club (PCYC) in Shalvey in western Sydney. The PCYC was set up as a vaccination clinic, offering the AstraZeneca vaccine on a walk-in basis before later offering Pfizer. The bus, previously operated by Kidney Health Australia with staffing support from Royal North Shore Hospital, was repurposed to serve as a mobile vaccination clinic while holidaying was not possible.
Kidney Health Australia Chief Executive Officer, Chris Forbes, said the organisation was delighted the bus could offer critical support when it was needed most. “The bus may be sporting a new look and be serving a different purpose, but it will still be offering a life-changing service, only this time in ensuring people are protected against COVID-19,” Mr Forbes said. Northern Sydney Local Health District Chief Executive Deb Willcox said the rebadged bus provided easy access to vaccines for COVID-19 to those wanting to be vaccinated.
“Our staff on the bus were excited to be helping thewider NSWcommunity as they continued to turn out in record numbers and rolled up their sleeve to keep themselves, their family and other loved ones safe,” she said. A number of staff worked around the clock to make the project possible, including but not limited to, nursing staff, counter disaster and information communications and technology, as well as Kidney Health Australia.
Some of the team who helped set up the bus
WWW.NSLHD.HEALTH.NSW.GOV.AU 37
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