Page 11 - January 2021 South Florida Hospital News
P. 11

Cover Story:  COVID-19 Vaccine:                                               Frontline Workers at Boca Raton

        The Key to Ending the Pandemic                                                 Regional Hospital and Bethesda


         Continued from page 1                                                      Hospital Receive Moderna Vaccine
        At the Forefront
          Memorial (www.mhs.net) was one of
        only five healthcare systems in Florida
        chosen to host and distribute the vac-
        cine, which we’ve since done to five com-
        munity hospitals (Holy Cross Health,
        Broward Health, Cleveland Clinic,
        Westside Regional Medical Center, and
        Florida Medical Center) and thousands
        of our own employees who were at risk
        of contracting and/or potentially trans-
        mitting the virus. Dr. Ari Sareli, our chief
        of critical care medicine, was among the
        first in South Florida to be vaccinated,
        with a simple shot that is repeated
        approximately 21 days later.
          This was no doubt the first time
        Monica Puga, a nurse and Memorial’s                                         On December 28, Christine Cummings, a
        vice president of population health,                                      registered nurse on the designated COVID
        heard cheers after putting a needle in a                                  floor at Bethesda Hospital East, part of
        patient’s arm, but it was a moment wor-                                   Baptist Health South Florida, became the
        thy of celebration.                                                       first employee in the Palm Beach communi-
          According to Memorial’s Chief Nurse                                     ty to receive the Moderna COVID-19 vac-
        Executive Maggie Hansen, “It’s a ray of                                   cine.  Dr. Evan Goldstein, Emergency Room
        hope for our frontline caregivers that                                    Director at Boca Raton Regional Hospital,
        have been battling this COVID-19 pan-                                     also received the vaccine.  This marks
        demic, which has been tremendously   was consistent across all subgroups, with   another major milestone in the fight against
        taxing for them, both professionally and   partial protection for those vaccinated as   COVID-19, as Baptist Health continues to
        personally. Now we have the opportunity   early as 12 days after the first dose. Study   provide protection to more of its caregivers.
        to offer them what they need to stay well   data was submitted to worldwide regula-
        so they can carry us through.”       tory bodies that include both the U.S.
                                             Food and Drug Administration and the
        A New Day                            European Medicines Agency.
                                                                                                           T
                                                                                                        C
                                                                                                              O
          We’re very enthusiastic about the                                            “MY DOC OR                    ... MY HHOME              ...
        potential of the vaccine, which has   Maintain Vigilance
                                                                                                        E CE OF MIN .
        shown to be effective and have limited   While our inoculation effort began          MY PEA                               ND      ”
        side effects in clinical trials, and are   with the 19,500 vaccine doses initially
        encouraging our healthcare workforce   received for use by Memorial and the
        and medical staff to be inoculated. While   other Broward County hospitals previ-
        the Pfizer product we’ve received and the   ously mentioned (Jackson Health is the
        Moderna vaccine other hospitals have   host and distributor for Miami-Dade
        been allocated aren’t yet available on a   county), it is not the only weapon in our
        widespread basis to the general public as   arsenal. Even after inoculation, and
        we enter 2021, it is, in the words of Dr.   while the long-term efficacy of all the
        Thomas Macaluso, Memorial’s interim   vaccines that reach the market are still
        chief medical officer, “the key to ending   being studied, it is critical to preserve the
        the pandemic.”                       level of caution many of us have shown
          I’m certainly aware there is some   since last March.
        resistance to taking the vaccine, with    That means continuing to wear masks,
        misconceptions that abound given how   maintaining physical distance, not gath-
        quickly it was approved and the lack of   ering in large groups, and washing hands
        long-range  data  on   its  impact.  (or using a hand sanitizer) frequently.
        Additionally, we live in a day and age   These are proven to help stop the com-
        where misinformation can easily spread,   munity spread of the virus and are an
        especially through social media and per-  important part of the collaborative effort
        sonal networks.                      to get control of the pandemic.            WITHmyDOC Remote Patient Monitoringg provides
          What I can report is that our clinicians   With your assistance, and thanks to
        and infectious disease experts are com-  the innovation shown by the scientific   connection, integgration and collaborationn with YOUR
        fortable with the results of the clinical   community and the tireless efforts of   trusted physician anytime ... anywhere.
        trials and the sample size (more than   medical professionals around the world,   T Teelehealth PLUS
        43,000 people of varying age, gender,   we can beat this virus and embrace the
        race, ethnicity, body mass index or pres-  promise the new year holds.                  •  Remote m monitoring of patient’s vitaals
        ence of other underlying co-morbidi-                                                    •  Access to o patient’’ss medical history
        ties), as well as the 95% efficacy reported   Aurelio M. Fernandez, III, is the president   •  Seamless s virtual experience
        by Pfizer in preventing COVID-19 in          and CEO of the Hollywood-based
        those without prior infection seven days        Memorial Healthcare System.         AS CLOSE AS IT GETS TO A REAL OFFFICE VISIT
        or more after the second dose. This data


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        South Florida Hospital News                                                              southfloridahospitalnews.com                                                          January 2021                           11
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