NVH starts vaccinating staff

North Valley Hospital announced Wednesday it has started vaccinating 400 of its frontline employees — basically anyone who has contact with medical patients — for novel coronavirus.

The hospital employs about 483 people, said spokeswoman Riley Polumbus, but not everyone has direct contact with patients.

This round of vaccinations from Moderna will cover the staff that does, she said, including medical staff at the hospital’s clinic, North Valley Family Medicine, in Columbia Falls.

The first doses were administered to employees Tuesday in high-risk jobs like nurses and doctors in the emergency wing as well as surgery.

Most people, however, were being vaccinated starting Wednesday afternoon at the hospital’s administrative offices in Whitefish.

“Receiving the vaccine was the first time in the last few months that I have felt hope that we are making progress in this battle,” said emergency physician Ashleigh Magill. “The ability to do even more to protect our families, our friends, our neighbors and our community, and especially our patient populations who are most at risk gives the feeling of a weight being lifted. The hope that in the coming months as the vaccine becomes more available, that the community will be able to return to a new version of normalcy as we continue to track this moving target gives us a renewed vigor for the ongoing journey.” While vaccination is one step toward fighting this pandemic, the hospital encourages the community and visitors to continue their efforts to stop the surge by washing their hands, wearing a face covering and practice social distancing.

More vaccinations are expected to roll out in the coming weeks, to places like nursing homes, assisted living centers and other longterm care facilities like the Montana Veterans’ Home, where both staff and residents will get the first rounds of the vaccine.

Kalispell Regional Medical Center vaccinated about 972 of its staff last week. Vaccines also went to staff at the Glacier Medical Associates.