USA Health vaccinates 1,268 employees against COVID-19

In the first week of COVID-19 vaccinations, 1,268 USA Health employees, or about 29 percent of the workforce, received the first of two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as staffers and volunteer healthcare workers stepped in to aid in the massive effort to fend off new infections.

USA Health also vaccinated 219 first responders, 71 rural healthcare workers, 70 students and 40 University of South Alabama health-related faculty. In all, 1,668 vaccines were administered.

Hours after the first shipments arrived on Tuesday, Dec. 15, University Hospital nurse manager Kimberly Tucker became the first healthcare worker in Mobile to receive the vaccine, followed by her endocrinologist, Wilbur “Will” Bolton, M.D., who had encouraged her to sign up.

Two days later, she reported feeling great. “I feel incredibly fortunate to have taken the vaccine. I am very happy that others have decided to take it as well,” she said. “I am hopeful that we are well on our way to decreasing the number of infections.”

Tucker said she plans to take the second dose in 21 days as recommended.

USA Health teams drew on processes honed at the drive-through COVID-19 testing site at the Mobile Civic Center to organize the vaccination effort, which followed the Alabama Department of Public Health allocation plan in which healthcare workers, first responders and nursing home residents are prioritized in the distribution. The Pfizer vaccine, the first to receive emergency authorization by the FDA, requires storage at a temperature of -94 degrees Fahrenheit.

“USA Health strongly encourages ALL of our staff to be vaccinated for COVID-19,” wrote Michael Chang, M.D., chief medical officer for USA Health, in a message to employees. “Each of us has the responsibility to protect our patients, as well as our coworkers, from becoming ill. Being vaccinated is the best way to carry out that responsibility.”

USA Health employees can self-schedule a vaccination appointment online after completing the USA Health Vaccination Information Registration Form. Appointments will be scheduled for as long as stock is available.

On the seventh floor at University Hospital, registered nurses Regina Marymont and Genie Bailey, both spouses of USA Health leaders, were volunteering with the vaccination effort. “We were looking for a way to help out. It’s all hands on deck,” said Marymont, the spouse of John Marymont, M.D., M.B.A., University of South Alabama vice president for medical affairs and dean of the USA College of Medicine.

Dressed in maroon scrubs, Bailey, the spouse of USA Health CEO Owen Bailey, M.H.A., F.A.C.H.E., said she was impressed with the process. “They’ve got the flow down,” she said. “If they could do the testing site, this is a piece of cake.”

Employees were scheduled at three sites, one at University Hospital and two at Children’s & Women’s Hospital, including a drive-through option. After employees signed in and received the vaccine, they were monitored for reactions for 15 minutes. Some marked the historic moment with photos.

“We’ve had a few selfies,” said registered nurse Toni Beck, who typically works in the neonatal intensive care unit at Children’s & Women’s Hospital. On Thursday, she was injecting doses of the vaccine in curtained triage areas of the pediatric emergency department. “Everyone has been very receptive and very thankful,” Beck said.