photo by: Ashley Golledge
A sign points to LMH Health’s new drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination center on Tuesday, December 15, 2020.
Lawrence’s hospital will begin administering 1,300 vaccines to residents 65 and older on Tuesday.
On Monday evening, the county contacted 1,300 randomly selected residents through the county alert system. These individuals had expressed an interest in receiving the vaccine through the county vaccine interests survey. The selected residents were given instructions on how to register online or by telephone for one of the appointments.
Amy Northrop, spokesman for LMH Health, said the county has approached no more than 1,300 residents. As the Journal-World has reported, previous Phase 2 vaccinations filings felt competitive for some residents, as the filings went to more residents than doses were available.
The hospital’s drive-thru clinic is in addition to the health department’s clinic for residents 65 and older, scheduled for January 29 at the Douglas County Fairgrounds. As reported, all 960 appointments for that clinic were fulfilled within approximately 30 minutes of the slots being made available.
LMH Health’s drive-thru clinic, which starts at 1 p.m. Tuesday, will run until all vaccines have been distributed. Russ Johnson, president and CEO of LMH Health, said the hospital was willing to deliver 500 to 750 vaccines a day. The drive-thru clinic is located at 330 Arkansas St., in the northwest parking lot of LMH Health’s main campus.
Johnson said he was grateful that LMH Health could play a role in giving vaccines to people over 65.
“As planned for this phase, we are committed to ensuring an equitable approach that benefits from the support of our nonprofit community partners and Unified Command Equity Impact Advisors, and gives individuals access to this important service in a way which is simple and convenient, ”said Johnson.
Dan Partridge, director of Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health, said the hospital would play a big role in Phase 2 by vaccinating residents 65 and older, “regardless of where they get their care.”
“With 30,000 to 40,000 Douglas County residents eligible for this phase, this process will take some time and is, of course, dependent on the availability of vaccines,” Partridge said in the hospital’s release. “While we absolutely understand that everyone is eager to get a vaccine, patience will be incredibly important as we continue to vaccinate those under Stage 1 as we follow these next steps for Stage 2.”
Visit dgcoks.org/vaccineinterestform to fill out the county vaccine interests survey. There are many options for residents who do not have access to a computer or transportation, or who need to be home to complete the survey and receive the vaccine:
• A family member or friend may submit the county survey form on behalf of a resident.
• Individuals can visit the Lawrence Public Library to fill out the form online.
• Residents can request assistance from the Senior Resource Center by calling 785-842-0543. Calls are answered in the order they were received.
• Residents requiring assistance with access to vaccines or transportation can contact United Way at 785-843-6626.
• The Visiting Nurses Association has said it would help administer vaccines. More information on this will be released as soon as it becomes available.
In other vaccine news at the hospital, pharmacy director Christina Crowley said LMH Health has no problem receiving enough second doses for people who have already received their first dose. The state will send second doses based on the number of first doses it has already sent, Crowley said. Twelve people were in quarantine or out of state during the time they needed to get their second dose, but those individual circumstances were properly handled by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Crowley said.