Page 10 - January 2021 South Florida Hospital News

West Palm Beach VA Medical
AN OPEN LETTER
Center Begins COVID-19
TO OUR COMMUNITY:
Vaccine Distribution

Wellington Regional Medical Center recently received
The West Palm Beach VA our first package that could represent a light at the end
Medical Center began COVID- of the tunnel. Strong words for a box that was not much
19 vaccination on Dec. 22 fol- larger than a shoebox. Inside was the first doses of the
lowing the U.S. Food and Drug COVID-19 vaccine for distribution to front line health-
Administration’s Emergency care heroes at Wellington Regional who are directly
Use Authorization. involved in the care of COVID-19 patients. Over the
“The West Palm Beach VA next several months, the healthcare industry anticipates
Medical Center is excited to enough vaccine will be made available to the general
offer the Pfizer-BioNTech public. Pam Tahan
COVID-19 vaccine to health Since March, the healthcare community has been
care personnel, community liv- faced with the difficult task of caring for patients during
ing center residents and other a global pandemic. It has not been easy on any of us and
congregate living units at our we have never been more proud of our staff’s profes-
facility,” said Cory Price, direc- sionalism and response to this crisis. One of the primary
tor of the West Palm Beach VA objectives of scientists around the world over the past
Medical Center. “Receiving the year has been the development of a vaccine for COVID-
vaccine at this time of the year 19. The result has been the rapid development of sever-
offers us a renewed hope going al vaccines that appear to be effective in protecting
into the new year. As vaccine supplies increase, our ultimate goal is to offer against the virus. The result has been hope.
COVID-19 vaccination to all enrolled veterans and employees who want to be vac- However, now is not the time to be complacent. Now Dr. Adam Bromberg
cinated.” is not the time to relax our precautions. Until the vac-
As vaccines become available for more groups of Veterans, VA care teams will cine is available for widespread distribution, we encour-
reach out to eligible Veterans to schedule vaccinations. There is no need to prereg- age you to continue to do the simple acts that have
ister or come to a facility to sign up. shown to be effective in slowing the spread of the
COVID-19 virus…. steps such as wearing a mask, prac-
ticing social distancing, not gathering in large groups
and frequently washing your hands. Pandemic fatigue is
real and the most important steps you can take to pro-
tect yourself and your family is to continue the safety
protocols recommended by the CDC.
And so it begins with the arrival of a small plain box. Dr. Larry Bush
For the pandemic to end, enough members of the pub-
lic either need to catch the virus and develop antibodies, or take the vaccine.
With enough people carrying the antibodies to prevent COVID-19 infections
we can develop the protection known as herd immunity. Our staff is currently
doing its part to help put an end to the pandemic, we encourage you to do your
part and get the COVID-19 vaccination when it is available to the general pub-
lic. Until then, be safe. This truly ends when we do it together.

Pam Tahan, CEO Wellington Regional Medical Center

Dr. Adam Bromberg, Chief of Staff, Wellington Regional Medical Center

Dr. Larry Bush, Infectious Diseases, Wellington Regional Medical Center.

10 January 2021 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News