Since the release of COVID-19 vaccinations, Haxtun Health has administered 350 vaccines, not wasting a single dose. Those numbers came from Chief Executive Officer Dewane Pace during a Monday, Jan. 25 meeting of Haxtun Health Board of Directors.

Pace told board members during his CEO report that Haxtun Health was the first hospital on the Eastern Plains to administer the COVID-19 vaccine. Dr. Ben Stephenson, Haxtun Health Chief of Staff, was the first person to receive the vaccine in Haxtun on Dec. 18.

Since receiving the Pfizer vaccine and administering all 60 doses that were initially received, Haxtun Health has also received the Moderna vaccine and administered it as well. Second doses of the vaccination were given at the end of January, bringing Haxtun Health’s vaccination total to 350 as of Jan. 22.

“We have followed the CDC’s guidelines for administering the vaccine and have prioritized healthcare workers first and foremost,” Pace told the Board.

Pace told board members that The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment recently changed initial priority groups to include people 70 and older. Additionally, the United States Surgeon General directed states and governors to move quickly to other priority groups with a goal of vaccinating the general population quicker rather than letting vaccines sit unused.

“Haxtun Health is following these directives and has been able to quickly move to other groups and offer the vaccine to the next group, which includes people ages 65 to 69 and others that meet criteria,” Pace said. “If faced with wasting vaccine or vaccinating someone earlier, we are vaccinating earlier.”

Pace said patients are encouraged to call the clinic to be placed on a list for the vaccine and as soon as some are delivered, they will be administered.

“Please be patient with us and know that we are moving as quickly as we can but are at the mercy of the vaccine distribution schedule managed by the State,” he added.

In relation to the COVID-19 situation, Pace noted that Haxtun Health is able to perform both the antigen and the antibody test for COVID-19 onsite with same day results. The antigen test, he said, requires a doctor’s order and is the rapid test that requires a nasal swab and tests for the actual virus. The antibody test requires a blood draw and tests for the antibody to see if you have had or carry the COVID-19 antibody.

“The antibody test is available as part of our Direct-Access-Testing and does not require a doctor’s order,” Pace explained. “You can come to the front desk, request the test, make payment, have your blood drawn and results will be sent or given to you as soon as completed.”

During her Chief Nursing Officer report, Lea White updated the Board on the current status of the Extended Care Facility in relation to resumption of visitation. White said visitation would resume two weeks after residents received their second dose of vaccine, which took place on Jan. 22. Visitors will still be asked to wear a mask and be screened upon entrance to the facility as well as requesting that all visits take place in the patient’s room or other private area to reduce exposure.

“At that time, ECU patients will be allowed to resume normal activities,” White told board members. “Such as sitting in the sunroom and eating in the dining room with as much social distancing as possible.”

White also touched on new admissions to the ECU while speaking at the Board meeting last week, noting that new admissions will resume with an evaluation of the patient’s vaccination status. If the patient has received both doses of the vaccine and two weeks have elapsed, they could be directly admitted. If the vaccine has not been administered, the patient would be tested for both COVID-19 and the antibodies with a potential quarantine time of 14 days from admission.

In other business the Board:

• Heard final 2020 statistics from Chief Financial Officer Joleen Stroyek. She said the acute care unit had a total of 134 patient days in December, 127 percent over budget for the month and 28 percent over budget year-to-date. She said the ECU had an average daily census of 15.6, which came in below budget. Clinic visits, both Haxtun and Fleming, totaled 493 for the month of December and 4,969 for the year. “We were 14 percent above budget for the month, three-percent under budget year-to-date and eight percent under this time last year,” the CFO told board members. Additionally, Stroyek told the Board that ancillary visits came in at 5,079 for December and 46,3890 for the year, 30 percent over budget for the month.

• Susan Vaughan, Chief Ancillary Officer, said remodeling has begun at the Fleming Clinic with a projected completion date of April of this year;

• The following credentials were approved: Jacob C. Stuart, Podiatry; Anna Jones, Family Medicine; Benjamin Aronovitz, Radiology; Nathaniel Chappelle, Family Medicine; Matthew Cushing, Radiology; Stephen W. Humes, Radiology; Fatemeh Kadivar, Radiology; Karin E. Liljestrand, Family Medicine; Trent A. Paradis, Radiology; Steven D. Ross, Radiology; Michael E. Seymour, Radiology; Sachin K. Talusani, Radiology; and William B. Wahl, Radiology.