COVID-19 in the Triangle: No Politics, Read the Rules Before Posting (Raleigh: transportation, cities)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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"NC is currently providing vaccinations to individuals in Phase 1a: Health care workers fighting COVID-19 & Long-Term Care staff and residents. Starting this week, some providers will also begin vaccinating individuals in Phase 1b, Group 1: Individuals who are 75 years of age and older."
The first-does total is less than 1% of the state’s population. And data as of Monday accumulated by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranked North Carolina as sixth worse among the states in per capita first-dose vaccinations.
I know why hospitals can't do more vaccinations with their existing staff.
I don't know why they wouldn't arrange with referring physician offices to send staff capable of giving a shot.
I don't know why if we can administer 60K tests a day now we can't give close to that many shots. In Wake County, you've got a nice huge unused sports complex with roadways and parking spaces.
I know why hospitals can't do more vaccinations with their existing staff.
I don't know why they wouldn't arrange with referring physician offices to send staff capable of giving a shot.
I don't know why if we can administer 60K tests a day now we can't give close to that many shots. In Wake County, you've got a nice huge unused sports complex with roadways and parking spaces.
It’s not as easy as you think to just “pull” people - this affects other sick patients. I'm not sure why you think this was ever a good idea. Hospitals are already barely keeping up right now and we have trouble finding RNs to staff not only COVID-19 floors, but regular medical floors. Why should hospitals be in charge of admin'ing the vaccine to everyone when the government never gave us support to even take care of sick people (even BEFORE the pandemic!). We are doing just fine with giving the vaccine to our staff, but that's probably the end of that.
We have RNs who staff the Pfizer vaccine admins to all Phase 1A employees and we have made them available from 6am to 6pm, with regular 12 hour shifts. We pulled them from other areas of the hospital. The Pfizer vaccine nurses are working 7 days a week, 12 hours a day. I understand this is much easier than working on the COVID-19 floor, but we had to pull those employee from somewhere to get this done
What makes you think we have endless staff to administer vaccines to all of our "patient-facing" employees, staff our COVID-19 floors which are not almost DOUBLE of the summer months, and prepare for the stupid christmas/new year's surge?
It was a huge mistake to think hospitals and health systems can handle this by themselves.
Here's another INSULT - we have pulled nurses from 2 public health clinics in Wake Co to instead come work with us in the hospital. Therefore, there are LESS appointments available in these public health clinics. Unfortunately, these public "FREE" health clinics handle otherwise stable patients with very bad chronic health conditions like heart failure and decreased lung function, which could result in serious medical issues if not treated properly - I already know it's a problem because these are patients who do NOT take their medications regularly.
Good, bring in the National Guard, and whatever help you want. It is NOT a good idea to have NC health systems be in charge of vaccine distribution. We are taking care of COVID-19 ICU and med patients instead and you want us to handle this BS also? It's time to think more in terms of actually taking care of human beings rather than just money in this country, something that Europe has done but not America.
Last edited by Universe93B; 01-05-2021 at 07:24 PM..
You won't - he's some sort of "support" worker, either a maintenance person or something along that line.
I think you are incorrect. I do also hope you don’t end up his patient or one of my wife’s either due to the virus. Losing patients to COVID takes a real emotional toll, an it seems to be even more so than with most other deaths she deals with on a regular basis at the hospital.
On a positive note, she gets her second vaccination this week! I’m still at the back of the line, holding down homeschooling duty and trying to keep everything else together.
It’s not as easy as you think to just “pull” people - this affects other sick patients. I'm not sure why you think this was ever a good idea. Hospitals are already barely keeping up right now and we have trouble finding RNs to staff not only COVID-19 floors, but regular medical floors. Why should hospitals be in charge of admin'ing the vaccine to everyone when the government never gave us support to even take care of sick people (even BEFORE the pandemic!). We are doing just fine wafffith giving the vaccine to our staff, but that's probably the end of that.
We have RNs who staff the Pfizer vaccine admins to all Phase 1A employees and we have made them available from 6am to 6pm, with regular 12 hour shifts. We pulled them from other areas of the hospital. The Pfizer vaccine nurses are working 7 days a week, 12 hours a day. I understand this is much easier than working on the COVID-19 floor, but we had to pull those employee from somewhere to get this done
What makes you think we have endless staff to administer vaccines to all of our "patient-facing" employees, staff our COVID-19 floors which are not almost DOUBLE of the summer months, and prepare for the stupid christmas/new year's surge?
It was a huge mistake to think hospitals and health systems can handle this by themselves.
I'm sorry that you misunderstood what I said. I will repeat it, and expound, since I was NOT saying the hospitals need to do more:
Quote:
I know why hospitals can't do more vaccinations with their existing staff.
The hospital staffs clearly don't have capacity to manage what they're doing already AND deliver vaccinations to non-hospital people.
Quote:
I don't know why they wouldn't arrange with referring physician offices to send staff capable of giving a shot.
in this case, "they" includes not only hospitals, but also the County Health Departments/DHHS arranging to use space in the hospital building to administer the vaccine. Or parking areas that are mostly empty given limits on visitors. Whether they are called "referring" or "admitting" or whatever - there are numerous specialists and PCP's that the hospital has a formal relationship with, right?
So the orthopedists (example) whose business is off but still have the same staff working - what level of "nurse" is needed to give a shot? Pharmacists give us the flu vaccine, and are being used for Covid in nursing homes, right?
I'm sorry that you misunderstood what I said. I will repeat it, and expound, since I was NOT saying the hospitals need to do more:
The hospital staffs clearly don't have capacity to manage what they're doing already AND deliver vaccinations to non-hospital people.
in this case, "they" includes not only hospitals, but also the County Health Departments/DHHS arranging to use space in the hospital building to administer the vaccine. Or parking areas that are mostly empty given limits on visitors. Whether they are called "referring" or "admitting" or whatever - there are numerous specialists and PCP's that the hospital has a formal relationship with, right?
So the orthopedists (example) whose business is off but still have the same staff working - what level of "nurse" is needed to give a shot? Pharmacists give us the flu vaccine, and are being used for Covid in nursing homes, right?
Yes, and also I do not think it has to do with who is authorized to dispense and administer the vaccine. It has to do with the capability to store the vaccines. Obviously it has certain guidelines for storage, the most important one being the storage in very cold temps. The ambulatory clinics, PCP offices are either not equipped for that, or do not know how, or are currently not authorized to do so because the vaccine is new and they probably do not want to mess up, and get it spoiled.
From what I am reading in scientific/medical news outlets, this process is going to get faster. We just need to wait a little. As people become knowledgeable with the process, the problems will get ironed out and it'll get better.
Thankfully, covid hospitalizations, although still high, are decreasing slightly in NC over the past few days. Lets hope that continues.
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