Hub Staff
The Grey Bruce Health Unit announced Monday the creation of a mass COVID-19 immunization hub, something they’re calling the “Hockey Hub,” in Grey and Bruce counties.
Currently the quantities of vaccinations are not enough to implement the hub but the model will be put in place when a large quantity of vaccines are available.
The GBHU called the Hockey Hub “a made in Canada solution” for mass immunization clinics and plans to use local hockey arenas to deliver thousands of vaccinations per day in local communities, the plan being scalable depending on the number of vaccinations available and the number of clients needing to be vaccinated.
With a staff of five administering vaccines, the hub will be able to administer 4,500 vaccines in a 10-hour period while utilizing non-medical staff for non-clinical tasks, preserving the clinical capacity to support the healthcare system.
“Process flow times have been calculated to the half minute. In the Hockey Hub, a vaccinator can administer 90 vaccines per hour. In a typical vaccine clinic, a vaccinator can administer 14 vaccines per hour,” read the release, adding that the difference in this model is a “streamlined flow-through process” where once a client remains in an individual pod where documentation, administering and recovery will take place while the person administering the vaccine will move from pod to pod.
A typical set up would allow 150 pods with one nurse assigned to 30 pods each. GBHU have estimated that it would take 21 days to vaccinate 140,000 people in three Hockey Hubs in Grey and Bruce, or 75% of the population.
Other efficiencies noted include staffing with non-clinical staff taking on clerical and support roles, reduces risk of injury as clients are immunized and recover in the same location and a “one-touch surface” decreases the need for surface cleaning, minimizing the risk of transmission.
This model is said to cost $6,000 per 1,000 vaccines compared to large volume clinics which can cost $26,000 per thousand.
Hockey Hub model, part of the Mass Immunization Hockey Hub Presentation from Grey Bruce Health Unit. Click for larger view.
Process flow. Click for larger view.
To see the presentation in full, click here.
