Hospitals begin vaccinating staff members against covid-19

Kelly Tanakatsubo (right), a nurse with Northwest Health in Springdale, prepares to administer a covid-19 vaccine Tuesday to Dr. Burton Bledsoe, chief of staff, at the medical center in Springdale. Frontline medical staff began receiving the vaccine. Visit nwaonline.com/201216Daily/ for today's photo gallery. 
(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)
Kelly Tanakatsubo (right), a nurse with Northwest Health in Springdale, prepares to administer a covid-19 vaccine Tuesday to Dr. Burton Bledsoe, chief of staff, at the medical center in Springdale. Frontline medical staff began receiving the vaccine. Visit nwaonline.com/201216Daily/ for today's photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)

SPRINGDALE -- Hospitals in Northwest Arkansas began giving their first covid-19 vaccines to staff members Tuesday.

Northwest Health, which has five hospitals including two medical centers in the region, and Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas in Rogers began vaccinations Tuesday. Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville plans to begin vaccinating today, according to a news release from the hospital.

Northwest Health received a shipment Tuesday of 1,400 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, said Denten Park, chief executive officer. Hospital administration does not yet know when the next shipment will arrive, he said. Mercy and Washington Regional each received 975 doses.

Dr. Burton Bledsoe of Northwest Health has been treating covid-19 patients since the spring and was among a few staff members to be vaccinated in front of news reporters at the Springdale hospital. He said he wanted to set an example so the public will know health care professionals trust the vaccine and are willing to take it.

[Don't see the video above? Click here to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2mH-yUUxqo]

Bledsoe has researched the vaccine and said it is safe and effective and was not released too quickly. The vaccine can protect the Northwest Arkansas community, he said.

The staff is relieved and excited for the vaccines and hopes to see a downturn in covid-19 cases and hospitalizations, he said.

Benton and Washington counties had 351 new cases of covid-19 on Tuesday, putting the accumulated total at 32,981 cases since the pandemic began in March.

Bledsoe and other health care workers who were vaccinated described the day as emotional.

"It's hard to watch someone die and not be around their family," said Vicky Thomas, a nurse who treats covid-19 patients at Northwest Health.

Thomas said she got the vaccine because she does not want to risk catching the virus and spreading it to others.

"All of us are tired," Dr. Jason McKinney of Mercy said of health care workers. "We all feel beat down. We're emotionally tired. We're physically tired."

McKinney said, "I've been at work for so many days I don't even know what day it is."

One of the most difficult parts of treating covid-19 is the unpredictability of how severely the virus will affect people and the feeling that there's little health care workers can do in many instances, McKinney said. Calling people day after day to tell them their family member is not getting better can feel like fighting a losing battle.

"A big part of being a physician is to tell people what to expect and to be accurate with that, and this virus makes that very hard," he said. "I've had a large volume of patients that the best thing I can offer them is that I'm watching for complications."

McKinney was Mercy's first staff member to receive the covid-19 vaccine Tuesday and called it "the light at the end of the tunnel."

He said, "This vaccine means that things will get better. Science works. Science is going to intervene."

McKinney gets frustrated by misinformation about the covid-19 vaccine and wants the public to trust health care professionals who want them to get vaccinated because they care about the community, he said.

"It's a safe vaccine, and I think it's very effective, and I think it's what's needed to bring this pandemic to an end," McKinney said.

Morale among the hospital staff has been much higher since they were told the vaccines would be arriving, he said.

"We all feel like we're children on Christmas Eve waiting for that surprise on Christmas morning. We're ecstatic," he said.

Representatives from Northwest Health, Mercy and Washington Regional have said they plan to vaccinate their entire staffs, but the first rounds of vaccines will go to staff members in direct contact with covid-19 patients. That can include medical professionals such as nurses, doctors and respiratory therapists as well as staff who clean the rooms, bring food to patients or perform any other jobs that require them to be exposed to the virus. No hospital is requiring employees to take the vaccine.

Northwest Health has more than 2,400 employees at its Northwest Arkansas hospitals and clinics, according to Christina Bull, spokeswoman. Mercy Hospital has more than 2,600 employees, according to its website. Washington Regional Medical System, which includes the hospital and clinics, employs more than 3,200 people, according to the system.

Washington Regional will give its employees vaccines during drive-through events over the next week, according to a news release from the hospital.

"As health care providers, we all know the devastating impact this virus has had on our community and the compelling need to bring the pandemic to heel," Dr. David Ratcliff, chief medical officer, said in the news release. "It is imperative that all members of society be vaccinated for our nation, state and community to put this pandemic behind us."

David Fortner, pharmacy director at Mercy, has said the vaccine is a tool to fight the pandemic and does not mean the public should stop wearing masks and washing their hands.

Likewise, a statement from Washington Regional stated, "While a vaccine offers hope that our lives will return to some sense of normalcy, our community must remain vigilant. To keep our hospitals from becoming overwhelmed, we urge the community to continue following the simple public health measures that have been recommended since spring: wear a mask, wash your hands, watch your distance and avoid large gatherings, especially as we head into the Christmas and New Year's holiday season."

A vial of covid-19 vaccine is used Tuesday to vaccinate medical staff at the Northwest Health in Springdale. Frontline medical staff began receiving the vaccine. Visit nwaonline.com/201216Daily/ for today's photo gallery. 
(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)
A vial of covid-19 vaccine is used Tuesday to vaccinate medical staff at the Northwest Health in Springdale. Frontline medical staff began receiving the vaccine. Visit nwaonline.com/201216Daily/ for today's photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)
Kelly Tanakatsubo (left), a nurse with Northwest Health in Springdale, administers a covid-19 vaccine Tuesday to nurse Vicky Thomas at the medical center in Springdale. Frontline medical staff began receiving the vaccine. Visit nwaonline.com/201216Daily/ for today's photo gallery. 
(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)
Kelly Tanakatsubo (left), a nurse with Northwest Health in Springdale, administers a covid-19 vaccine Tuesday to nurse Vicky Thomas at the medical center in Springdale. Frontline medical staff began receiving the vaccine. Visit nwaonline.com/201216Daily/ for today's photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)
Kelly Tanakatsubo (left), a nurse with Northwest Health in Springdale, administers a covid-19 vaccine Tuesday to Dr. Lance Manning at the medical center in Springdale. Frontline medical staff began receiving the vaccine. Visit nwaonline.com/201216Daily/ for today's photo gallery. 
(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)
Kelly Tanakatsubo (left), a nurse with Northwest Health in Springdale, administers a covid-19 vaccine Tuesday to Dr. Lance Manning at the medical center in Springdale. Frontline medical staff began receiving the vaccine. Visit nwaonline.com/201216Daily/ for today's photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)
Dr. Sonal Bhakta, chief medical officer at Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas, gives Dr. Jason McKinney the hospital's first covid-19 vaccine Tuesday at the hospital in Rogers. (Photo courtesy of Mercy Health System)
Dr. Sonal Bhakta, chief medical officer at Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas, gives Dr. Jason McKinney the hospital's first covid-19 vaccine Tuesday at the hospital in Rogers. (Photo courtesy of Mercy Health System)

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