Photo By Douglas Stutz | Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Brittany Vain provides the COVID-19 vaccine to Anh Nguyen,...... read more read more
For the preventive medicine technicians (PMT) assigned to Naval Hospital Bremerton, the Secretary of Defense all-hands memorandum came as no sudden surprise.
In addressing all Department of Defense (DoD) employees, Secretary Lloyd Austin stated he will ask the president, no later than the middle of September, to make the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory.
The announcement has been met with a range of emotional responses, expressive replies and empathetic reactions from active duty service members as well as civilian and contractor personnel.
After being at the fore the past 18 months – and counting - helping stop the spread of COVID-19, the PMTs understand that the health and well-being of all are of paramount importance. Their duty as a ready medical force is to ensure there is a medically ready force.
Still, there’s a feeling of being on a deployment that has been extended.
Again.
“We have had numerous discussions regarding the impending mass-vax evolutions. They have not expressed any frustrations. They understand what is going to be expected of them, which is providing on-site supervision and assistance during the evolutions,” said Chief Hospital Corpsman Dawn Dillow, Preventive Medicine department leading chief petty officer.
Ramping up again to handle a sizable workload of time and effort is a challenge not lost on command leadership. Cmdr. Rob Uniszkiewicz, NMRTC Bremerton, NHB/NMRTC Bremerton public health director and head of the command COVID-19 working group asserts that advances made up to this point in helping lessen the impact and disruption of the virus are a testament to the teamwork displayed by staff in administering vaccines, providing tests, and diligently continuing mitigation protocols.
“The truth is that the situation is not ideal for anyone. The pandemic is not over. We still have a lot of work to do and the Delta variant has made this fact impossible to ignore. The work being done is of the utmost importance to public safety and operational readiness, without which we would be much more dire situation,” said Uniszkiewicz, acknowledging that the command’s pandemic response efforts have been effective due to dedicated staff members, as well as everyone who has stepped forth to roll up their sleeve and received the vaccine.
“I am fortunate to be on a team of highly motivated individuals who understand the importance of this no-fail mission. We continue to put into perspective how much worse of a situation we would be in without their tireless efforts. We cannot forget that lives are literally at risk. The preventive medicine team, the contact tracers, the immunizations teams, the urgent care clinic, the screening tents, the testing teams, and laboratory have all come together in a way that is inspirational. Those that have done their duty and got the vaccine should be touted as heroes as they have taken the steps, on their own volition, to make this a safe environment for us all. We need to continue to look out for one another and ensure everyone is getting rest, enough to eat, time to exercise, and to speak up if they need help. The pandemic is not fought alone,” stated Uniszkiewicz.
Yet the overlapping impact from the virus – physical, emotional, spiritual, financial, and more – has been acutely felt every day during the pandemic. Hospital leaders are aware that resiliency can gradually morph into burnout.
“Regardless of the fact that the Delta variant is the most transmissible form we have seen of the SARS-CoV2 virus, currently our greatest challenge is COVID fatigue that we see amongst our patients, the DoD military/civilian workforce, and especially our own healthcare teammates,” said Dr. Dan Frederick, NHB public health emergency officer. “This impact on our staff is not insignificant. At this time we need to continue to support each other, watch for signs of exhaustions, and make certain to take care of ourselves with a healthy work-life balance which includes rest periods/breaks/time off.”
The actual vaccine mandatory date could become sooner if the Food and Drug Administration gives a final approval for the vaccine(s) or if the highly transmissible Delta variant of the virus continues to elevate infection rates.
Frederick affirms NHB is prepared, come what may.
“Organizationally, we are better armed today than we ever have been during this pandemic with a more knowledgeable and efficient healthcare staff, more vaccine supply than demand, testing capabilities that now exceed requirements and leadership/management personnel who continue to improve with smart resource allocation and policy interpretation and execution. Applying these tools and leveraging subject matter experts (SME) from across our different work specialty areas will ultimately be the key to our success against this virus,” stressed Frederick.
One such example of the SMEs is the Preventive Medicine team. They have been actively engaged in quickly responding and working tirelessly when called upon for initial contact tracking and screening for symptoms, close contact investigations and contact tracing of COVID-19 cases. They have also handled follow-up of individual patients in isolation, conducted mass vaccination evolutions, and delivered hands-on support and timely guidance in administering COVID vaccinations across the nation’s third largest fleet concentration area, all part of the overall effort to help stop the spread of the pandemic virus.
“My PMTs are standing by and ready and able to provide any and all assistance to get up through this next round of vaccine effort,” Dillow said.
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is currently available at NHB for eligible beneficiaries ages 12 and up. The vaccine is available by appointment Monday – Friday 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Immunization Clinic. A parent/guardian must accompany those under the age of 18. The vaccine is also available on a walk-in basis in the Urgent Care Clinic from 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday – Friday and all day Saturday, Sunday, and (open) holidays.
Additionally, the Urgent Care Clinic COVID Testing Triage, is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and has been busy these last few days.
Eligible beneficiaries can also make an appointment by calling the Puget Sound Military Appointment Center at 1-800-404-4506 from 6 a.m. – 8 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 7 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. For appointments at the Immunization Clinic please visit https://informatics-stage.health.mil/Bre.../COVIDSeries.aspx
Branch Health Clinic Everett continues to offer the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. To schedule at Everett, please visit https://informatics-stage.health.mil/EverettCOVID
| Date Taken: | 08.12.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 08.12.2021 14:42 |
| Story ID: | 402953 |
| Location: | BREMERTON , WA, US |
| Web Views: | 428 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Making it stick at Naval Hospital Bremerton, by Douglas Stutz, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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