SMACNA-Western Washington’s innovative vaccination effort demonstrates the power of what can be achieved when we work together
By / Natalie Bruckner • Photos courtesy of SMACNA-Western Washington
When Julie Muller, executive vice president at SMACNA- Western Washington (WW), was approached by two member companies to assist with helping organize COVID vaccine shots for their teams, she decided to build on that idea and spark an industry-wide initiative: Why not partner with a trusted pharmaceutical chain and multiple member companies to facilitate an industry-wide vaccination campaign where shots would be provided in a far more pleasant environment, surrounded by people they know and trust?
And so, the wheels were put in motion. Muller reached out to the drugstore chain Rite Aid to help organize the first two clinics that would be held in April with SMACNA-WW members Holaday-Parks, Inc. and Holmberg Mechanical.
“We thought that offering our members the vaccine would be a great service to our industry… we just didn’t know how to do it,” Muller says. “So I did some research and through the NWSMW Health Trust I was able to get in touch with Rite Aid, our primary retail prescription provider. I started working with their regional VP and told him what we wanted to accomplish.”
The team at Rite Aid was just as enthused by the idea and happy to assist.
The idea was so novel, in fact, that SMACNA-WW became the only SMACNA chapter in the industry to accomplish a partnership of this kind for member vaccines. Within ten days of getting the partnership underway, Patricia Bovie, marketing specialist at SMACNA-WW, Carrie Heinrich, operations manager at SMACNA-WW, Muller, and the team at Rite Aid had locations secured and 18 vaccine clinics scheduled. Over 3,000 shots for members and their families were in the bag—including one at the Northwest Sheet Metal JATC in DuPont, which provided the venue and opened their vaccination appointments to the entire Local 66 membership and building trades partners. In fact, everyone was more than happy to host a vaccination clinic including: Holaday-Parks Inc., Hermanson Company, Holmberg Mechanical, PSF Mechanical, MacDonald-Miller Facility Solutions, Johansen Mechanical, and UMC, Inc.
However, unlike the stuffy vaccine clinics that we have come to expect, these clinics were something special. Having a deep understanding that getting vaccinated can be a rather daunting process, the SMACNA-WW team decided to put a spin on the whole thing and make it as stress-free as possible. In fact, they decided to use their skills and create a fun, community building event.
On the process side, Bovie worked hard and fast behind the scenes to ensure that each clinic had an appointment link that could be sent to the members to make the signup process simple (as opposed to trying to find out where and when the vaccine would be available and then getting put on a list). And yet it was the way the team brought a fun element into the planning that peaked interest and helped the SMACNA-WW/Rite Aid clinics gain mass traction. Heinrich planned and scheduled the event rentals, food trucks and juice bars, and fun interactive activities.
The team at SMACNA-WW decided to go all out in making this as enjoyable as possible. Walking into the clinics, the attendees were greeted by everything from a DJ and hula hoop competitions to free chicken soup, a taco truck, and even a bar—this undoubtedly helped take the edge off getting vaccinated.
“In the normal clinics, people go into to get their vaccine, they get the shot, and then have to wait 15 minutes in a room full of strangers,” Heinrich says. “That can feel like a long time. We wanted our clinics to be different. We wanted to take out any anxiety people may be feeling and give them something to do… and I mean, who doesn’t like to eat and drink for free?” she laughs.
Response to the clinics was very positive. Heinrich says the SMACNA-WW team was overwhelmed and excited that all their hard work paid off. “When Washington opened the vaccine up to the 16-plus age group, we opened up the vaccine in the clinics to SMACNA-WW members’ families too,” she says. Bovie adds that each clinic could handle up to 200 people, “so we were well positioned to deal with large numbers.”
By mid-June, around 1,600 members had received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine through these SMACNA-WW/Rite Aid organized clinics. Over 3,000 total shots were administered. This is an incredibly impressive number in such a short space of time.
An additional incentive for getting the vaccine is the upcoming 2021 SMACNA Annual Convention that is being held in October in Maui, Hawaii—the state recently announced it will be dropping its testing and quarantine rules for vaccinated domestic travelers. Bonus!
Julie noted that “securing the vaccine was another big win for SMACNA-WW and its members as second doses were guaranteed.” This was especially important considering many states have been slow to order allotted vaccine doses, which was impacting the allocation of doses during those months.
Of course, there were those who were a little reticent about getting the vaccine, and one of those people, Heinrich admits, was herself. “Honestly, I wasn’t really interested in getting it at first,” she says. “But when I was helping out at the first Holaday-Parks clinic it was so relaxed and I thought, ʻWell, I’m here, I might as well.’”
As for any adverse reactions to the vaccine, Heinrich recalls only one out of the 1,600, and that was mild. “As far as I’m aware, we only had one lady who had a reaction, and all that happened was she got a little rash on her chest,” Heinrich says. “The pharmacist went to check her out while she was at the taco truck, and by the time the 15 minutes was up and she had finished eating, it had gone.”
By the last week of June, most of the members who wanted the vaccine had received both their first and second doses. “It really was a team effort,” Heinrich says. “We had great contractors to work with who helped pull this together and Rite Aid was amazing, too.”
Muller noted, “I am beyond impressed with the SMACNA-WW team and participating companies for making this happen. We all worked tirelessly on this initiative within a very tight timeline: All hands were on deck and now we are very satisfied with our results.”
Bovie adds, “It was very rewarding, and we felt very proud of what we achieved in administering the vaccine to those members and their families.”
Washington state has reached 68.2 percent of its 70 percent vaccination threshold target statewide (as of June 25). SMACNA-WW’s proactive and quick actions to assist members in receiving the vaccine have not only given the industry a boost to getting back to a sense of normality, but the region, too.
And with the state now in Phase 3 and getting ready to open up, the clinics have been a teaser of what’s to come: Getting back to being face-to-face with the SMACNA-WW family once again.
“The more people that are getting vaccinated, the more relaxed they are feeling,” Heinrich says. “It feels like things are slowly getting back to normal.”
As SMACNA-WW gets ready to host its Annual Golf Tournament at The Golf Club at Newcastle in Newcastle, Washington, on Thursday, July 29, there is without a doubt a sense of normality returning.
“It will be so great to see everyone out and about now that they are vaccinated,” Bovie says.
“I think our entire membership has Zoom fatigue, myself included,” Muller noted. “Getting back to in-person meetings and events is exciting and necessary to keep our members engaged and moving forward.”
While we are not yet “business as usual” many can now definitely see the light, thanks in a big part to innovative vaccine efforts such as this that demonstrate the power of working together. ▪
