St. Charles provides 175 vaccine doses for High Lakes Health Care staff

Hospital spokeswoman says they had more doses than needed

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- St. Charles Health System has provided 175 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to High Lakes Health Care, and the Bend clinic has already vaccinated more than 100 staff members, officials said Friday.

A total of 103 High Lakes staff received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, one day after St. Charles called the clinic to offer the doses.

“When St. Charles made this generous offer, as long we could get the doses that night, we gladly accepted and raced to make it happen,” said Becca Mataya, High Lakes' primary care director.

St. Charles spokeswoman told NewsChannel 21, "We had more doses than we needed, so we have started distributing some to other vaccine-registered providers in the area."

Goodman said she did not have a breakdown of those distributions as of yet. She also said it's too early to tell how many caregivers at St. Charles have declined to receive the vaccine, as they have until Feb. 1 to submit a declination form.

Mataya, Dr. Jessica Morgan, High Lakes' medical director, and Jeff Caba, High Lakes' urgent care director, led the efforts at the facility.

The High Lakes team was able to move quickly to vaccinate their team, thanks to a skeleton plan that was already formed and ready to put into place, officials said.

Administering the Pfizer vaccine is a hefty operation because of cold storage needs, as well as safety protocols. After picking up the doses at St. Charles, the team swiftly set up a clinic at their High Lakes Upper Mill offices.

“We are so fortunate to be able to say that all staff at High Lakes Health Care who wanted a vaccine will be able to get one, thanks to our incredible team effort and this fortunate partnership with St. Charles," Mataya said. "We are celebrating a momentous step in the pandemic being able to vaccinate our health care workers.”

The clinic said it will complete the remaining 72 vaccinations by Monday, allowing them to meet the current needs of all staff.