By Richard Kaufman
Sentinel Reporter
*Peter Barhydt contributed to this story
The past nine months at Greenwich Hospital have been hard for many because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but on Wednesday morning there was reason to believe that better days are ahead.
The Hospital vaccinated its first healthcare workers in a livestream event: Dr. Samantha D’Annunzio, who has worked in the Intensive Care Unit; Kathleen Collins, a nurse in the ICU; Mark Anthony Abile, a nurse in the Post Acute Care Unit; Deyanira Ferreras from Environmental Services; and Dr. Piyal Alam, from the Hospital’s Port Chester walk-in center.
Greenwich Hospital President, Diane Kelly, called Wednesday “an important moment for us all.”
“We have been battling COVID now for nine long months, and the sacrifices made by our frontline caregivers in all healthcare facilities here and throughout the country continue to spire me on a daily basis. They are truly healthcare heroes,” Kelly said.
As of Wednesday morning, there were 416 COVID-19 patients being treated throughout the Yale New Haven Health System, with 35 at Greenwich Hospital.
“Without a doubt, we are tired of the suffering brought on by this virus and our caregivers’ fatigue is evident in our daily work,” Kelly continued. “But their spirits, their compassion and their resilience is also evident, and we are grateful to all of them. Today, we have a new weapon in our battle against COVID. We finally have the vaccine.”
Almost 3,000 vaccine doses arrived at Greenwich Hospital on Tuesday evening, and Phase 1A of the distribution plan began with the initial five vaccinations on Wednesday.
James Duffy, Pharmacy Operations Manager at Greenwich Hospital, said it’s more complicated than just simply receiving the vaccine shipment and administering it.
“There’s a lot of bookwork we have to do. We have to log it into the CDC and the state. We have to check the temperature tracker and make sure it did not have any temperature excursions and the cold chain is intact. Then we store it in our refrigerator which is at 28 degrees centigrade,” he said.
The Pfizer vaccine requires ultracold freezer storage at minus 70 degrees centigrade when it’s shipped, but it can be refrigerated for five days before it loses effectiveness.
“We’re only going to receive enough vaccine to manage the people we have signed up for the clinic each day,” Duffy said.
Officials are anticipating receiving an additional 7,000 doses on Sunday.
The first phase of vaccine distribution includes healthcare providers, frontline workers and pre-hospital care staff within the Greenwich Hospital/Yale New Haven Health System. EMS providers, as well as residents of nursing homes and skilled facilities will also be at the front of the vaccine line, said Dr. Karen Santucci, Chief Medical Officer for Greenwich Hospital
Additionally, on Wednesday, the Hospital began to distribute names of those who work in affiliated offices who will get vaccinated. All told, the process to vaccinate internally is expected to take 6-8 weeks, and then the general public will get their shots in the arm.
“Our hope across the board is that everyone will receive and have access to the vaccine by spring of 2021,” Santucci said.
Anna Cerra, the Chief Nursing Officer at Greenwich Hospital, said Yale New Haven Health System is at a crossroads in dealing with COVID-19. The vaccine has arrived at a critical time during the second wave.
“Please hear me loud and clear. The vaccine is safe, and the vaccine is effective. Pfizer claims that it’s 95% effective for all who take it. Even though we have polls that show over 40% of the community is hesitant to take the vaccine because they lack trust, we have to trust the science behind the vaccine,” Cerra said. “The vaccine will not harm you. It will keep you safe. We have a duty and an obligation to our patients, and not to mention to our families.”
To that end, Greenwich Hospital has launched an internal campaign, called “Crush COVID-19” in order to get the word out about the vaccine. Kelly said communication is key between the health system and the community.
“The success of this vaccine is going to [depend] on the number of people who take it,” she said.
Greenwich Hospital is well-equipped to inoculate large groups, Kelly remarked.
“We’re actually facilitating giving the vaccine through a very well-established, proven to be effective process that we do each and every year here at Greenwich Hospital and Yale New Haven Health System through our flu [shot program],” she said. “We are going to use our structure within the health system and we’re very confident in that.”
Beyond that, Greenwich Hospital will be reaching out to community partners and the media about disseminating information on the vaccine and it’s safety. Kelly mentioned her ongoing dialogue with First Selectman Fred Camillo regarding COVID-19 as being instrumental
Dr. Piyal Alam, who worked at Greenwich Hospital’s walk-in center in Port Chester, N.Y., which was hard hit by COVID, shared the reason why he wanted to get vaccinated. He mentioned a piece of wisdom one of his mentors in the medical field taught him.
“[My mentor] told me, ‘I’ll never ask any of my patients or colleagues to do something that I wouldn’t want to do myself,'” Alam said. “I wanted to lead by example and show my patients and our communities that this is safe and it should be effective. Hopefully this is the beginning of the end of the pandemic for us.”
You can view Wednesday’s live stream from Greenwich Hospital below:
