Sarasota Memorial Health Care System partnered with the Sarasota Department of Health to administer COVID-19 vaccinations to nearly 3,000 community members age 65 and older during a 2-day, appointment-only event held in the hospital auditorium on Jan. 9 and 10.
Hospital President and CEO David Verinder attributed the event's success and efficient operation to the dedication and collaborative efforts of the entire SMH team and the assistance of participating community partners, including the Department of Health, the Sarasota Police Department and the state government.
“It’s an amazing accomplishment, considering we only had a few days to plan for the event, and we’ve been managing very high patient volumes at the same time," Verinder said. "The event truly was a Herculean effort, but it went very smoothly, and we’ve received an outpouring of gratitude from those who attended.”
Sarasota Memorial clinical staff — including pharmacists, nurses, clinicians and support staff — administered Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from SMH's state-allocated supply during the event. Vaccine recipients will return to SMH for their requisite second dose on Feb. 6 and 7. Those who were vaccinated during the community event at SMH can click here for important information about getting the second dose.
Due to very limited vaccine supplies, SMH does not have any other community vaccination events planned. However, we are continually working with local and state partners to explore ways we can support them to further expand community vaccinations once additional supply is made available by the state.
For updates on vaccine availability for the general public, the Sarasota Department of Health advises community members to monitor local news media; regularly check sarasota.floridahealth.gov; and text SRQCOVID19 to 888777 for updates via text messaging.
About Sarasota Memorial
Sarasota Memorial Health Care System is a regional referral center offering Southwest Florida’s greatest breadth and depth of care, with more than 1 million patient visits each year. Its flagship 839-bed, acute-care hospital has been consistently recognized as one of the nation’s largest and best, with superior patient outcomes and a complete continuum of outpatient services.
About the Florida Department of Health
The Department, nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board, works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts. Follow DOH on Twitter at @HealthyFla and on Facebook. For more information about the Florida Department of Health, visit floridahealth.gov.