ARNPRIOR – Arnprior marked a milestone in the local vaccination rollout with its first drive-thru COVID vaccination clinics piloted yesterday for very high priority healthcare providers in the community.

“The drive-thru clinics are part of the regional vaccination plan led by the Renfrew County and District Health (RDCHU) and follows the Ministry of Health priority sequencing,” Arnprior Regional Health (ARH) communications manager Melissa McDermott released in a statement today (March 5).

The Arnprior and District Family Health Team (ADFHT), ARH, County of Renfrew Paramedic Service and RCDHU collaborated closely to plan and operate the first of the clinics in the Arnprior District High School parking lot.

“Locally, we are working collaboratively with our healthcare partners to get the vaccine in the right arms as efficiently as possible,” ADFHT executive director Karen Simpson said. “The Arnprior vaccination rollout will be multi-phased and soon shift its focus to high-priority groups in the community, beginning with residents who are 80 years and older.”

“Our successful drive-thru clinic pilot has been an important opportunity for our collaborative team to test and fine-tune the logistics before we scale to our larger community clinics,” ADFHT registered nurse Marlo Michelson, who helped lead the clinic logistics, said.

Through the first drive-thru clinic, the Arnprior COVID-19 vaccination team immunized 112 healthcare workers – including family physicians, family health team staff, dentists and dental staff, pharmacists and pharmacy techs, paramedics, and other healthcare providers as well as some members of the OPP from the Arnprior and area community. Additional clinics are planned over the next week to complete this priority group.

“Building upon the teamwork, mutual experiences and processes that are still ongoing in the COVID-19 testing sites across the county, it is our belief that a drive-thru model for vaccination is as efficient and will provide users a safe and comfortable experience,” Deputy Chief – Clinical Program, County of Renfrew Paramedic Service Mathieu Grenier said.

As part of the drive-thru vaccination clinic pilot, the team trialled the centralized online booking system. This system is part of the Connected Care electronic health records system that has been developed in collaboration between ARH and other CHAMP hospitals including Queensway Carleton Hospital, l’Hôpital Montfort, Élisabeth Bruyère Hospital¸ Carleton Place & District Memorial Hospital and Glengarry Memorial Hospital.

“Our priority is to have a centralized online booking system for Renfrew County that will make the COVID-19 vaccination process less stressful and more convenient for our community members,” Health information Services and Decision Support and Chief Privacy Officer, ARH manager Andrea McClymont said. “The drive-thru clinics and the ARH clinics have given our project team the valuable opportunity to test drive the booking system before we launch it broadly to the community as part of the phased vaccination rollout.”

As the vaccination rollout moves ahead, priority groups will be notified through various multi-media channels including public service announcements to indicate who is eligible to receive the vaccine. The centralized online vaccine booking system will be available for all Renfrew County and District communities. For those who do not have access to the internet, there will also be a phone booking system. More information and details will be shared with residents soon.

The Arnprior vaccination rollout is being led by ADFHT, ARH, Clancy’s Drug Store, County of Renfrew Paramedic Service, and The Town of Arnprior as part of the regional strategy led by RCDHU.