Special edition: December 23, 2020
The best Christmas present ever!

In the past eight months, we have lived in a world of perpetual uncertainty. Do we have enough PPE? Masks work – no they don’t – yes they do; what is accurate? How do we keep our doors open and our staff fully employed? Where do we find enough staff? How can we get enough swabs to do testing? How do we offer testing in our clinics if we can’t order the equipment? Now that we have the lab equipment to test, how do we find enough test kits? The questions have been relentless. As time passed, I saw our team gradually worn down by the day-to-day struggles as we went from one crisis to the next.

On Wednesday, December 16, I saw a change. I saw energy and enthusiasm. I saw hope!

That morning, we received an e-mail asking us to join a call within the hour to discuss vaccine distribution. We had no prior knowledge this would be happening; in fact, much of the vaccine distribution process had been shrouded in mystery. We knew Kansas would be getting shipments, but who would receive them? Would we get any? Within 20 minutes, our team was in the admin conference room preparing, but we didn’t really know for what. We asked questions and started to work through the answers. How many vaccines were we going to get? How would we prioritize associates? Where would vaccines be administered? Were consent forms and FAQs ready? How would we register our associates and report to CMS? Was Cerner ready?
After confirmation that we were on the list to receive the vaccine came the long wait for the call telling us how many doses we would receive and when and how they would arrive. Plans were immediately put into place to start vaccinations on Thursday afternoon. When the vaccine didn’t arrive in the assigned time frame, we began the process of tracking down when it would arrive. The delay meant that all of the hard work scheduling associates had to be re-done, yet no one complained. As Mindy says, we “worked the problem” and moved on to the next task.
In northeast Kansas, we love our football, and it offers a ready analogy. For the past eight months, we’ve been playing defense. We’ve been reading and reacting. On December 17, arrival of the vaccine meant we finally got to hold the ball, and we weren’t letting go. It’s exciting to finally be on offense! Now we have the tool we need to beat the virus. As one of our providers told me later, “this is the best Christmas present ever.”

We are not out of the woods yet. Dark days remain ahead of us, and yes, we will need to continue to mask, wash our hands, and practice social distancing. But every single vaccination will take us one step closer to defeating the virus. As Dr. Walsh says, it’s one step closer to “family gatherings, dining out, and attending sporting events.”

It’s fitting that this moment arrives at Christmas, a time of hope throughout the world. And did anyone happen to see the “Christmas Star” on Monday night? What a perfect symbol.

This time of hope was made possible by the hard work of many beyond our walls. Scientists and pharmaceutical companies harnessed years of research and development of mRNA technology to design and test a vaccine quickly to help halt the pandemic. These researchers stood on the shoulders of those who came before who effectively ended polio, diptheria, and smallpox and protected us against other diseases such as mumps, measles, tetanus, rubella, whooping cough, and more. It’s hard to overestimate the good these vaccines have done in our world. Although of course we don’t yet know if the COVID-19 vaccines available now and still in development will be as effective as those against smallpox and polio, they are likely to go down in history as significant contributions to public health in a time of need.

Here at CHCS, we harnessed the power of teamwork. It has made me so proud to work with the group that has not only solved problems one at a time through the course of the pandemic, but also faced the new challenge of distributing vaccine to associates with celebration and dedication. It was a privilege to watch this group operate. What we accomplished in laying the groundwork based on changing information in a short period of time is truly remarkable, and our associates greeted the vaccine opportunity with appreciation and flexibility when the schedule had to change.  

Thanks to everyone who played a role in giving CHCS the best Christmas gift ever. I wish all of you the brightest of holidays even in a dark time, and the hope and energy to keep playing offense as we continue to enrich the health and lives of the people we serve. 

– Todd Willert, CEO
Learn more

If you need more information about the vaccine for yourself or to help answer questions from family and friends, find information and links to other resources by clicking the button below or visiting www.chcsks.org and choosing "For Associates" then "COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions." Additional information is available on our blog, and more is coming soon. Click the button below or visit https://www.chcsks.org/blog to find Q&A posts with CHCS providers.