Phoebe preparing for flu season with vaccination campaign at Albany, associated facilities

ALBANY — The Phoebe Putney Health System has launched a rapid flu vaccination program for employees and is encouraging the public to get flu shots in order to avoid overwhelming medical facilities with patients sick from influenza or COVID-19.

The condensed timeline for having employees vaccinated is meant to prepare the system to quickly provide vaccinations to employees and the community for COVID-19 when a vaccine for the novel coronavirus becomes available.

“Typically, we administer flu shots to our 5,000-plus Phoebe Family members over a period of about two months,” health system President and CEO Scott Steiner said. “This year, we set an aggressive timeline to stretch our system and identify and overcome any barriers we may face when we are able to roll out COVID-19 vaccinations.

“It will be vital for us to be able to vaccinate large numbers of people for COVID-19 quickly, and we want to be ready.”

Several coronavirus vaccines currently are undergoing clinical trials to determine their safety and effectiveness in preventing infection. Due to the potential for a resurgence in the fall or winter, Phoebe said, it is urgent that individuals receive the flu vaccine.

“We want to avoid the possible scenario of a large influx of flu patients in addition to patients admitted with COVID-19,” Dr. Steven Kitchen, chief medical officer at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, said. “Flu shots are now available to the public at Phoebe clinics and other locations throughout our community.

“The flu vaccine is safe and offers the best protection against influenza, and we encourage everyone in southwest Georgia over 6 months of age to get vaccinated as soon as possible to help us avoid an active flu season.”

Phoebe physicians hosted flu shot clinics at various primary care locations throughout the region on weekends over the last month, vaccinating more than 260 people. Phoebe began administering flu shots to its employees on Oct. 2 and will continue to do so through Sunday.

Nearly 1,000 employees received their vaccinations on the first day.

“We’ve had outstanding compliance and cooperation,” Steiner said. “Annual flu shots are mandatory for our team members, and they understand it’s important for them to go ahead and get vaccinated to protect themselves, as well as our patients and our community.”

The health system took several steps to streamline the process of vaccinating employees, including allowing them to fill out consent forms online rather than in person.

Clinical departments that have the resources to vaccinate their employees were given vaccines to do so. Stationary vaccination locations were set up at all hospital campuses that employees can visit at their convenience, and mobile vaccination locations are being deployed to areas throughout the health system.

Phoebe has applied with the Georgia Department of Public Health Immunization Program to serve as a COVID-19 pandemic mass vaccination site. With that designation, the state would provide a significant number of vaccines, and Phoebe would assist in administering them to eligible populations in the region.

“We take our responsibility to protect our communities seriously,” Steiner said “We have been on the front lines of this fight since March, and we expect to play a vital role in providing the people of southwest Georgia with access to a vaccine to protect them from COVID-19 as soon as it is available.”

Special Photo: PhoebeSpecial Photo: Phoebe

Special Photo: Phoebe

Special Photo: Phoebe