Covid-19 Vaccine Clinics a Major Success at Wake Robin

With her team, Meagan Buckley, Director of Health and Resident Services, responded swiftly when she learned Wake Robin had been granted on-site Covid-19 vaccine clinics. The first clinic took place just three days after Christmas and planning and logistics had to wrapped up in a weekend. Now that the third and final clinic concluded this February, many at Wake Robin look back at the vaccination process with astonishment and some well-deserved pride.

Great Vaccination Rates

In total, the vaccination rate reached 100% in the Linden Health Center, with all 71 residents receiving both doses of vaccination. Staff hit a 90% vaccination rate: that’s 187 employees and well above the nation-wide staff vaccination rate for nursing homes. “It’s clear that what makes a difference is the staff’s commitment to the community,” reflected Meagan Buckley on the turnout.

Partnering with CVS

The federal government mandated on-site Covid-19 Vaccine clinics for all nursing homes throughout the country, and with Wake Robin’s Linden Health Center designated as such by the state, Wake Robin was alerted late in 2020 that the clinics would start soon. The model required partnering with a pharmacy and Wake Robin teamed up with CVS, who had six pharmacists and four pharmacist assistants available every round to administer shots and monitor the workflow. “We felt very welcomed,” one CVS team member said. In fact, there was a link with one pharmacist to the community: she used to operate a pharmacy on campus when Wake Robin had one!

The partnership worked as a real collaboration. Wake Robin staff helped CVS in streamlining consent forms, educating resident and staff about side effects, converting the old fitness studio into a vaccine location and the break room into supervision area, and requesting appropriate dose amounts for each clinic. For vaccine awareness, nurses met with Linden residents one and one and also fielded questions from their families. Nick Fredette, Wake Robin’s nurse practitioner, hosted six Zoom sessions for staff to ask questions and learn more about the process. “The goal was simple,” Nick said, “to get immunity into our community.”

“This is hopeful”

The state of Vermont has begun vaccinations for citizens over seventy. When appointments opened up, Resident Services assisted eighty Independent Living Residents in scheduling their vaccination dates. It’s been a complete team effort at Wake Robin, and the community feel has bolstered since the vaccination roll out. A Linden resident was brought to tears the day she received her first vaccination. “This is progress. This is hopeful,” she said.