On Friday, February 12th, Oakmont Sterling was proud to welcome the Macomb County Health Department to our community for a COVID-19 vaccine clinic for our residents and staff. Oakmont Sterling is the third Oakmont Community in Macomb County to receive doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine through the excellent work of the Macomb County Health Department.
Oakmont Sterling resident and her caregiver daughter both being vaccinated!
Once the vaccine initiative was announced at the state level, Oakmont began working with the county, volunteers, residents, employees, and families to ensure everyone who was eligible for the vaccine had the proper information, forms, and expectations going into the clinic. Once the day arrived, the clinic was conducted with a focus on efficiency and safety – ensuring all who were due to be vaccinated were comfortable, safely socially distanced, and ready to receive the vaccination when it was their turn. Residents and staff were arranged in small groups based on their apartment location in the building and brought to our largest common area, the dining room, in staggered time slots. This allowed residents to remain seated and comfortable while waiting in line for their names to be called.
Once called to the front of the line by volunteers, residents and staff were taken to a private nursing station where nurses from the Macomb County Health Department consulted each vaccine candidate on a few questions about past experiences and allergies. Once it was confirmed that it was safe for the vaccine to be administered, the nursing team did so with compassion and skill – ensuring all vaccinations were quick and relatively painless.
A resident being escorted to her vaccine by a volunteer from Balanced Home Care.
After being inoculated, all residents and staff were monitored for a period of 15 minutes to confirm that no side or ill effects from the vaccine would come to light. Tables were arranged in a socially distanced manner with individual timers, refreshments, and volunteers on hand to see to any need that may have arisen. Monitoring locations were also sanitized between every use. Once it was confirmed that there were no adverse reactions, residents were allowed to return to their apartments.
