Charles Therrien, President and CEO of Mercy Hospital, Thanked All Those who Made the Portland Expo COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic a Hugh Success.
Mary-rose Kristen Starr Was One of the Last to Receive Her Second Shot today at the Portland Expo Before it Closed at Noon.
Doug MacDonald, a Munjoy Hill Resident, Voluntered at the Mercy Vaccination Clinic That Ended Today at Noon.
Ellen Mahoney, a Peaks Island Resident, Has Voluntered at the Vaccination Clinic Since the Beginning.
Charles Therrien. president and CEO of Northern Light Mercy, thanked all those who participated in making the COVID-19 vaccination clinic at Portland Expo such a big success earlier today. The thanks came at an outdoor celebratory lunch attended by a large crowd just after noon today – noon marked the closing of the vaccination clinic that opened up over three months ago. The clinic gave 44,000 vaccines according to Ed Gilman, communications and government relations director.
The gathering included doctors, nurses, a pharmacist, lay people and an assortment of others dedicated to serving the underserved.
One of the volunteers was Ellen Mahoney, a resident of Peaks Island. As a front entrance manager, Ellen was responsible for screening all volunteers who entered to be certain they were virus free. That included taking temperatures and checking on masks. That involved 50 – 100 people a day. “We all lived with this problem for a year. We wanted to be part of the solution,” she said. Previously, she worked for the Portland Public Schools.
Doug MacDonald, a resident of Munjoy Hill, checked people in near the entrance to the Expo. He used a computer to place an order for each individual who arrived for their appointment. His work also served partly as inventory control for the Pfizer vaccine. In the past. MacDonald worked at Mercy Hospital and even at Maine Medical Center briefly. “I saw numerous people who are employed at Maine Medical Center volunteering here,” said Doug chuckling. (See left photo of Doug.)
Nick Bloom, a pharmacist employed at Mercy Hospital, explained the two step process involved in getting shots into the arms of the public. Nick drew up the vaccine and handed it to the nurse or doctor to administer the shot. He also had to monitor the people who didn’t show up for their appointments or cancelled their appointments. “We monitored the flow of the patients coming through,” he added.
“I was a little hesitant about getting the second shot today,” said Mary-Rose Kristen Starr as she emerged from the Portland Expo early this afternoon. “I thought I had natural immunity to the COVID-19 because I believe I had it back in January. I had all the symptoms although in a mild form,” she said. She tried to get a COVID-19 test but was turned away at the last moment. (See above right photo of Mary-Rose.
One retired volunteer who is a nurse and did not want to be identified said: “We are already talking about a reunion. The closing of the clinic today is bittersweet. We enjoyed working with each other. We shared a common goal and interest. We were dedicated to keeping people healthy,” he said.