At the outset, all teams were governed by two key principles: safety and speed.
"We have a collective focus. We know that for every vaccination there's another life that's on its way to being protected from this horrible virus," Shiran says. "There was urgency; we knew we couldn't leave this in the freezer."
A mobile vaccination model was developed and at work in LTCs within 48 hours. Each evening, an Operations Team featuring representation from all UHN teams involved, met virtually to review that day's events. Over the course of its first week of meeting, workflows were improved, the drawing of doses was refined to ensure no vaccine was wasted and overall efficiency of the process was polished.
UHN worked through vaccinations at its 13 partner LTCs and quickly jumped to help others with their homes alongside other Toronto hospitals. Teams shared best practices and soon joined forces to complete all 87 LTCs in the city in nine days – six days ahead of schedule – then more than 70 retirement homes and congregate living sites.
"It's a testament to how we work in primary care," says Dr. Camille Lemieux, Chief of Family Medicine at UHN and one of the team members who has been administering Moderna vaccines. "We're very collaborative and used to working across sectors and inter-professionally."
Collaborating with counterparts from across the health system, including family medicine teams from other hospitals – Humber River, Michael Garron, North York General, Scarborough Health Network, Sinai Health, Sunnybrook, Unity Health Toronto and Women's College – brought different skills and strengths together to improve the vaccination model, she says.
"We want this approach to continue, to put down our hospital badges and work collaboratively with other endeavours, not just in an emergency," she says. "There are so many opportunities for us to come together for the benefit of our hospitals, and more importantly, for the benefits of all patients.
"I really hope this is a sign of things the come."