Sourcing & Staffing Team Members for Vaccine Events

The success of events, especially large ones, often relies on community partnerships with law enforcement, local government, schools, volunteers, etc. Hospitals have learned it’s always better to over-staff on the front end, in particular, and now aim for a ratio of 2:1 non-clinical staff to clinical staff.

Here are some lessons learned:

• Nurses (all areas of practice), pharmacy team members, administrative staff, security, and physicians are the primary staffing needs.
• The number of vaccine doses available drives staffing needs. The availability of staff then drives the appointments that can be accommodated. Staffing models varied greatly by event size.
• Security team staff were needed at almost all events. If hospital security wasn’t present, local law enforcement was usually involved. Security team members were used to both de-escalate confrontations and, in some cases, check appointment/eligibility status before patients entered vaccine events.
• Designating staff for IT support (registration processes) helped tremendously.
• Schedule lunch breaks for staff and volunteers, but be prepared in case lines back up and people can’t rotate out. Have water and refreshments available on demand.

Key Roles to Fill

• Pre-check – individual to confirm patient eligibility for vaccine. No clinical skills required.
• Traffic control – individual to direct or control the flow of traffic into and out of parking lots or designated areas. No clinical skills required.
• Registration – individual to document patient information in VAMS or other electronic system as well as provide direct assistance to people attempting to register. Some administrative or EMR experience necessary.
• Vaccinator – individual to administer vaccine. Some level of clinical skill required. Vaccinators can be active or retired nurses, active or retired physicians, active or retired physician assistants, pharmacists, nursing/pharmacy/medical students, etc.
• Vaccine documenter – individual to record time vaccine was administered and to complete vaccine ID card to give to the patient. No clinical skills required.
• Monitor – individual to monitor patients for any reaction to vaccine. Some level of clinical skill required.
• Site administrator – individual to oversee all operations of the event.

Walk-in Event Roles

• Check in – individual to check identification and patient eligibility for vaccine, confirm appointment time, provide necessary paperwork (if applicable). No clinical skills required.
• Registration – individual to collect documentation, assist with creating email address (if applicable), document patient information in VAMS or other electronic system. No clinical skills required. Some administrative or EMR experience necessary.
• Vaccinator – individual to administer vaccine. Some level of clinical skill required. Vaccinators can be active or retired nurses, active or retired physicians, active or retired physician assistants, pharmacists, nursing/pharmacy/medical students, etc.
• Vaccine documenter – individual to record time vaccine was administered and to complete vaccine ID card to give to patient. No clinical skills required.
• Monitor – individual to monitor patients for any reaction to vaccine. Some level of clinical skill required.
• Site administrator – individual to oversee all operations of the event.

Sourcing Volunteers or Staff for Vaccine Events

For nurses with current active license, review the list of RNs who have completed the SCHA Help Now Survey. Reach out to individuals in your service area to arrange for volunteer or staffing roles.

Retired or inactive nurses (whose license has been inactive for less than 5 years) can request a temporary work authorization to administer vaccines and monitor patient reactions. Individuals whose request has been granted will be posted on the SC Board of Nursing website.

Retired physicians or physician assistants can complete a temporary limited authority through the SC Board of Medical Examiners.

Certified medical assistants can, under appropriate supervision, administer vaccinations.

Medical students can, under appropriate supervision, administer vaccinations.

Nursing students can administer vaccines if the vaccine administration is done as part of a clinical rotation associated with a nursing education program. If a nursing student is volunteering on his/her own time outside of a clinical rotation, he/she can help with administrative duties.

DHEC has become a central hub for collecting information on volunteers from around the state who can help with vaccines. They have contact information on individuals who can assist with both clinical and administrative type roles. Any hospital that would like to source volunteers from the DHEC list can contact Deb Beasley at DHEC at 803-414-1136 or beasleds@dhec.sc.gov.

Partner with local technical college programs in health information management, medical office administration, business, computer science or IT, etc. to use students to help with data entry and administrative skills.

Partner with local Rotary Clubs, United Way, or other community-based organizations to recruit volunteers for traffic control or general duties.

A PDF version of this page is available here.

If you have other best practices to share based on your events, please share those with Lara Hewitt at lhewitt@scha.