photo by: Ashley Golledge

A sign points to LMH Health's drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination center on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020.

Lawrence’s hospital will begin administering 1,300 vaccines Tuesday to residents 65 and older.

Monday night, the county contacted 1,300 randomly selected residents via the county’s alert system. These individuals had indicated interest in receiving the vaccine through the county’s vaccine interest survey. The selected residents received instructions about how to sign up online or by phone for one of the appointments.

Amy Northrop, spokesperson for LMH Health, said the county did not contact more than 1,300 residents. As the Journal-World has reported, previous Phase 2 vaccination sign-ups felt competitive to some residents, because the sign-ups went out to more residents then there were doses available.

The hospital’s drive-thru clinic is in addition to the health department’s clinic for residents 65 and older, which is scheduled for Jan. 29 at the Douglas County Fairgrounds. As reported, all 960 appointments for that clinic were filled within about 30 minutes of the slots being made available.

LMH Health’s drive-thru clinic, which will begin Tuesday at 1 p.m., will run until all the vaccines have been distributed. Russ Johnson, president and CEO of LMH Health, said the hospital was prepared to deliver between 500 to 750 vaccines a day. The drive-thru clinic is at 330 Arkansas St., in the northwest parking lot of LMH Health’s main campus.

Johnson said he was grateful that LMH Health could play a role in administering vaccines to those 65 and older.

“As we planned for this phase, we focused on ensuring an equitable approach that benefits from support from our nonprofit community partners and Unified Command Equity Impact Advisors, and allows individuals to access this important service in a way that’s simple and convenient,” Johnson said.

Dan Partridge, director of Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health, said the hospital would play a large role in Phase 2 by vaccinating residents 65 and older, “regardless of where they receive their care.”

“With 30,000 to 40,000 Douglas County residents who qualify for this phase, this process will take some time and is, of course, contingent on vaccine availability,” Partridge said in the hospital’s release. “While we definitely understand everyone is anxious to receive a vaccine, patience will be incredibly important as we continue to vaccinate individuals covered under Phase 1 while navigating these next steps for Phase 2.”

To fill out the county’s vaccine interest survey, go to dgcoks.org/vaccineinterestform. Numerous avenues are in place for residents without access to a computer or transportation or who are home-bound to fill out the survey and receive the vaccine:

• A family member or friend may submit the county’s survey form on a resident’s behalf.

• Individuals may visit the Lawrence Public Library to complete the form online.

• Residents can request assistance from the Senior Resource Center by calling 785-842-0543. Calls will be returned in the order they are received.

• Residents who need assistance with vaccine access or transportation may contact the United Way at 785-843-6626.

• The Visiting Nurses Association has said it would help administer vaccines. More information about this will be released when it becomes available.

In other vaccine news at the hospital, pharmacy director Christina Crowley said LMH Health has not been having issues receiving enough second doses for people who have already received their first dose. The state sends second doses based on the number of first doses it has already sent, Crowley said. Twelve people were either in quarantine or out of state during the time they were supposed to receive their second doses, but those individual circumstances have been properly handled by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Crowley said.