LOUISDALE: The only mobile unit of its kind in Canada is on the road in the Strait area.
The Medicine Shoppe pharmacist Michael Hatt will be visiting communities around the four counties in the coming weeks in a mobile flu clinic from which he is able to administer flu vaccinations.
Hatt said he got the inspiration from American chain Rite Aid which used ambulances during the first wave of COVID-19. Other than larger vehicles being used in other provinces, Hatt believes this is the only flu clinic of its kind in Canada, he said.
“This is the only one in Canada right now,” Hatt told The Reporter. “There might in Ontario, I’ve seen cases where they have 18-wheelers that will go to certain areas and do it that way, but there’s nobody with a van, or a bus, or an ambulance doing it.”
The first mobile clinic’s first visit was to Louisdale on October 28, with plans to go to Mulgrave, Havre Boucher, Auld’s Cove, Judique, West Bay Road, and Port Hood, as well as clinics in and around Port Hawkesbury. Thus far, he said the response has been great, with between 80-100 people vaccinated on the first day.
“This is our real first test,” Hatt said last Wednesday. “Today is our first real day on the road but it’s been going really well so far, the patients have been really receptive to it, it’s working great, as far as getting people in. Sanitizing is much easier doing it in here than versus even at the office or in the hall. We’ve been really lucky, as far as managing patients coming in and out. They’re waiting in their car, they’ve got their forms pre-filled, they go back and wait in their car and wait 15 minutes.”
There are plans to take this mobile flu clinic to as many Strait area communities as possible before the end of the year.
Hatt said the mobile clinic will be targeting businesses within Port Hawkesbury and communities without “easy pharmacy access.” Hatt has partnered with community groups which are doing the scheduling and taking appointments, while other clinics will use a drive-in model.
“Within Port Hawkesbury, we’re targeting businesses that have employees that need to get their flu shot but might not be able to get out during business hours,” he noted. “Then we’re targeting the areas that don’t have a pharmacy; where the residents might have a hard time getting in to get their flu shot, whether they’re with their doctor or their pharmacy.”
The pharmacist said he first purchased the decommissioned ambulance from a used car lot in the Annapolis Valley a couple of weeks ago. Fortunately, it has a wheelchair lift, power, heat, and everything Hatt needs. He noted that Canso Ford has been instrumental in keeping the vehicle running.
Even though he has been providing this vital service via the mobile clinic for the past few years, Hatt said it is even more important for as many people as possible to get their flu shots as soon as possible this year.
“Everybody is taking their COVID precautions very seriously, which is going to be a benefit because you’re likely not going to catch the flu,” he said. “The downside is that if you are an individual that gets the flu, you’re going to be stuck in a hospital, likely with somebody who is a suspected COVID. You’re going to probably going to the same spot and getting tested. You may not go in with COVID, but you may come out with COVID.”
Hatt added that he will be out on the road until mid-November.
