02/20/2021
Dear Colleagues,
We are pleased to announce that University of Utah Health, along with several health systems in Utah, have officially been asked by the state to help distribute COVID-19 vaccines to select patient groups within our system. We will immediately begin notifying patients about this opportunity to align with the state’s plan to expand distribution efforts in March.
Teams of clinical and operational leaders are leading this community effort by developing and coordinating the process and operations associated with safely delivering the vaccine.
Our patient vaccination efforts are meant to complement the state’s overall efforts and will initially focus on patients with the highest-risk medical conditions, which include:
Patients who have had Solid Organ Transplants
Patients with Hematologic Cancers diagnosed in the past 5 years
Patients with Chronic Neurologic Conditions
Patients with Severe Chronic Kidney Disease (Stage 4, Stage 5, and end stage renal disease)
At this time, vaccinations will be available by appointment only at the Redwood Health Center and University of Utah Hospital. We will expand to additional groups of patients and additional health centers as more vaccine becomes available.
Invitations will be sent via MyChart, text message and automated voice calls in both English and Spanish. They will be issued on a rolling basis, with the number of available appointments dependent on the amount of vaccine we receive each week. After they are notified, patients can schedule appointments via MyChart or the COVID-19 Hotline at 801-587-0712.
For inquiries about whether a patient has been sent a vaccine offer, simply check their Health Maintenance Topic in EPIC for the COVID Vaccine.
As we offer COVID-19 vaccine to our patients, reaching those who are most vulnerable remains a high priority. We are implementing multiple measures, including expanding outreach, to ensure patients in these vulnerable populations have access to the COVID-19 vaccine.
We are honored to participate in this time of need and encourage you to recommend the vaccine to your patients. Resources have been assembled to help answer their questions. Please refer to the “Vaccine Education for Patients” section on Pulse where you will find materials such as:
Addressing Common Patient Questions
Four Strategies for Building Vaccine Confidence with patients
Multi-lingual Patient Handouts (CDC)
Multi-lingual Vaccine Education Resources (UDOH)
Thank you for your continued dedication to this effort. If you have any questions, or would like information about voluneer opportunities related to patient vaccinations, please contact AskCMO@hsc.utah.edu.
Sincerely,
Tom Miller, MD
Chief Medical Officer
Richard Orlandi, MD
Associate Chief Medical Officer, Ambulatory Health
