Linda Shannon-Hills
After having six very successful COVID-19 vaccination drives last winter, the booster to help continue and enhance our protection came to SaddleBrooke Ranch on Nov. 6. More than 890 people received the COVID-19 Moderna booster vaccination. Desert Life Pharmacy’s pharmacist and owner, Brianne Spaeth, was eager to come back to the Ranch to “booster” our residents.
After holding two flu vaccination drives in September and October, Brianne was still able to recruit 15 pharmacy students from the University of Arizona in Tucson to come up to the Ranch, along with five active registered nurse residents at the Ranch. The drive started at 9:15 a.m. and ended by 12:45 p.m., vaccinating almost 250 people per hour.
Residents continue to praise the smooth and speedy vaccination cycle, which only happened due to our SBR volunteers. There were volunteers setting up and tearing down, directing traffic, checking in for attendance, reviewing medical forms, and predrawing the vaccines into the syringes. Scribes assisted the registered active nurses, students did the vaccinating, volunteers assisted with parking for our medical team to observe after vaccination, and our hospitality cart provided volunteers with water and snacks. We can’t forget our troubleshooting team that answered questions, solved issues, and handed out forms. Please give our 96 volunteers and all the volunteer leads, a huge thank you on a job well-done.
The big shout-out goes to Spaeth at Desert Life Pharmacy, located in the SaddleBrooke business area. Without her, we could not have done this vaccination drive.
We want to urge all people to keep their white COVID-19 Record Card in a safe place and keep a photo of it on your phone. This is an important document.