'One lucky community': How a Palm City yacht and country club vaccinated half its residents
Max ChesnesIn the face of supreme demand and thin supply for COVID-19 vaccinations on the Treasure Coast, how did one Palm City yacht and country club manage to vaccinate over half its residents so soon?
As hundreds of calls per hour pour into hospitals and local health departments, leaving many people confused and without answers, Piper's Landing Yacht & Country Club doled out roughly 270 Moderna vaccines to community residents Thursday.
The Florida Department of Health office in Martin County received a shipment of 2,800 doses of the vaccine Dec. 28, spokesperson Renay Rouse told TCPalm Friday.
Nearly 40% of those vaccines — 1,100 in total — were distributed among three state-approved private healthcare distributors: Mobile Medical Associates and Treasure Coast Urgent Care received 500 doses each, and The Kane Center received 100 doses.
Of the 500 vaccines allotted to the Palm City-based Mobile Medical, over half went to Piper's Landing residents, the company's owner, Laurie Mccuen, told TCPalm Friday.
More:Seniors slam 'chaotic' COVID vaccine alerts
About 70 of the country club's residents who received vaccines were existing patients of Mobile Medical, said Mccuen. About 20 of those were home-bound patients, and the other 50 had mobility issues.
The remaining roughly 200 vaccines? They went to Piper's Landing residents age 65 and older, said the community's general manager, Brian Reich. In all, just over half the community's population was inoculated Thursday.
"We're just one lucky community," Reich said Friday. "We're eternally grateful."
High demand, low supply
It seems to boil down to more than luck.
An existing patient-client relationship with Mobile Medical, paired with the Moderna vaccine's waning shelf life once vials are opened and a reliance on the state to vaccinate long-term care facility residents, all opened the door for the country club's residents to receive the doses, Mccuen said.
"Technically, I can give (the vaccines) to any patient I want in Martin County, but at the same time, why do I want to take my stash and give it to an assisted living facility who I know is already getting them (from the state)?" said Mccuen, who opened the healthcare operation about 10 years ago.
Many of Mccuen's patients are residents of long-term care facilities, and some are still waiting to receive their COVID-19 vaccinations, she added.
Despite the state's slow rollout to Florida's most at-risk residents, administering shots to nursing homes could duplicate the state's efforts, she said.
On top of that, the company has just six hours to administer a vial of vaccine once opened, Mccuen said. With so many existing at-risk patients receiving shots at Piper's Landing Thursday, it made sense to vaccinate other residents in the community.
"Would I rather get out 50 (vaccines) today, or would I rather get out 900 today?" Mccuen hypothesized. "I'm in a position to get out 900, and then cover 100 of my patients."
Mobile Medical's strategy has taken the shape of hiring nursing staff to prioritize communities "heavily infiltrated" with existing patients, and then vaccinating the remaining community that surrounds them, Mccuen said. Then they plan to move on to individual patients.
The private company is also administering 80 vaccine doses to residents of Whispering Sounds, an age-restricted, 55 and older community that boasts an active clubhouse, heated swimming pool and spa.
The remaining roughly 150 vaccines of the 500 provided by the health department are being reserved for Mobile Medical's healthcare staff and individual house call patients, Mccuen said.
It "probably" helps to be an existing Mobile Medical patient if you are looking for access to the company's limited vaccine supply, she said.
Plans for minority communities
Once the vaccines are handed off to state-approved distributors like Mobile Medical, the health department has no oversight on where they're dispensed, Rouse said. The health department does not review nor approve outreach distribution plans for companies that are registered and approved to distribute the vaccine, she said.
When asked whether the health department should monitor where the vaccines go and who gets them, Rouse said the bottom line is whether providers are following state guidelines.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has made frontline healthcare workers, assisted living facilities and those 65 and older the state's top priority. Private vendors also have to prove they can handle administering the vaccine and must report their vaccinations daily, Rouse said.
More:Cleveland Clinic online registration for patients 65+ fills within hours
At a news conference in Vero Beach Thursday, DeSantis did not provide a concrete answer on whether the Treasure Coast should expect vaccine sites to prioritize the region's minority communities.
A pilot program in Northwest Florida last weekend targeted the region's minority community, and more of these projects should be coming soon, DeSantis said. When, exactly, was not specified.
Reich said more private companies should start distributing vaccines along the Treasure Coast.
"This is really the way to get this (vaccine) out and distributed," Reich said, adding many seniors are not technologically savvy enough to set up appoints through online portals or phone waiting rooms. "I recommend this type of service. I think it's the way to go."
For more news, follow Max Chesnes on Twitter.
Max Chesnes is a former TCPalm health reporter and current environment reporter covering issues facing the Indian River Lagoon, St. Lucie River and Lake Okeechobee. You can keep up with Max on Twitter @MaxChesnes, email him at max.chesnes@tcpalm.com and give him a call at 772-978-2224.