Kudos!
Last Saturday the Marion County Health Department held an H1N1 clinic at Marion Harding High School, open to all in the high-risk categories. The only previous clinic had focused on the "Tier 1" risk patients, children under 18 and pregnant women, plus childcare providers. I wasn't sure what to expect but at least the weather was decent.
I got to the school at 9:10 a.m., a few minutes after the clinic started. Screeners were stationed at the outside doors, verifying that potential patients were indeed in the high-risk categories; those who weren't were turned aside. Each person in line was handed a number as they came through the door; I was number 433. A long hallway had been partitioned so that plenty of people could be accomodated in line.
More screeners waited inside the gymnasium doors: "How many are in your party?" Onesies and twosies were passed to the first line; those with three or four were handed off to another line, and parties of five or more were sent to yet another line. Once sorted into lines, there were registrars taking people's identification, printing out their forms, and passing out cardboard blanks and pens for people to use while filling out their forms. When completed, another helper took the cardboard and pen, and the patient stepped up to the injection table. For larger parties, there were multiple injection tables.
At each injection table, two medics were giving the vaccine, and one person filled the syringes. I pulled my left arm out of my sweater, rolled up my short-sleeve shirt, got my injection and headed for home.
Admittedly I was in the "express line" for the onesies and twosies, but I was out the door in about 20 minutes - having spent the longest time getting from the outside door to the gymnasium door. But, given the chaos that's been shown on the news since all this started, I have to say I was very impressed with the smooth run from start to finish. Even the kids walking out the doors were, for the most part, smiling and ready to get on with their lovely Saturday. Hooray for a smartly-run process!
We go tomorrow night to Cleveland for the evaluations on Friday. If all goes well, I'm on to cycle 6 next week.
I got to the school at 9:10 a.m., a few minutes after the clinic started. Screeners were stationed at the outside doors, verifying that potential patients were indeed in the high-risk categories; those who weren't were turned aside. Each person in line was handed a number as they came through the door; I was number 433. A long hallway had been partitioned so that plenty of people could be accomodated in line.
More screeners waited inside the gymnasium doors: "How many are in your party?" Onesies and twosies were passed to the first line; those with three or four were handed off to another line, and parties of five or more were sent to yet another line. Once sorted into lines, there were registrars taking people's identification, printing out their forms, and passing out cardboard blanks and pens for people to use while filling out their forms. When completed, another helper took the cardboard and pen, and the patient stepped up to the injection table. For larger parties, there were multiple injection tables.
At each injection table, two medics were giving the vaccine, and one person filled the syringes. I pulled my left arm out of my sweater, rolled up my short-sleeve shirt, got my injection and headed for home.
Admittedly I was in the "express line" for the onesies and twosies, but I was out the door in about 20 minutes - having spent the longest time getting from the outside door to the gymnasium door. But, given the chaos that's been shown on the news since all this started, I have to say I was very impressed with the smooth run from start to finish. Even the kids walking out the doors were, for the most part, smiling and ready to get on with their lovely Saturday. Hooray for a smartly-run process!
We go tomorrow night to Cleveland for the evaluations on Friday. If all goes well, I'm on to cycle 6 next week.
posted by rcclive at
3:09 PM
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