Jan. 12, 2021
The City of Beaufort is sharing an email from Beaufort Memorial Hospital that is being sent to community partners to detail procedures for Covid vaccines for those who are Phase 1a-eligible. The hospital has asked us to share this with our constituents:
The following steps have been taken to notify Phase 1a-eligible residents about how they will be contacted and/or how they can contact the hospital to sign up to register for an appointment:
- E-mail messages have been sent to all BMH Physician Partners practice patients age 70 and older to notify them of their eligibility, outline the process and the link they will receive to schedule their appointment, and instructions for registering in the Vaccination Administration Management System (VAMS).
- Mass communications will be shared with the general public (non-BMH-patients) directing eligible people to a registration landing page on the BMH website where they can submit information the hospital needs to load into VAMS so they can schedule their appointment. A link to the landing page will be available today.
- A Vaccine Call Center is now staffed Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., whereby eligible residents can call to provide their information for VAMS. The phone will be answered during business hours. After business hours it will roll to voicemail and calls will be returned the next day. The Vaccine Call Center can be reached at (843) 522-5670.
- A vaccine email address is available for community members to email questions and/or the required information for entry in VAMS so they can schedule their appointment. The email address is vaccine@bmhsc.org. Required information includes:
o First Name, Last Name
o E-mail Address
o Age
o Date of Birth
o Phone Number
Like all hospitals we want manage expectations up front, which include the following:
- Vaccines will be administered in one of two clinics in Beaufort and Okatie.
- Walk-ins will not be accepted.
- All appointments will be honored based on the availability of vaccine doses.
- In the event demand exceeds supply in a given timeframe, our vaccine clinic will contact patients to notify and reschedule them at a later date.
As of noon yesterday (Jan. 11) we had approximately 1,534 doses of vaccine on hand and 1,355 appointments scheduled through Feb. 4. While we expect to receive our weekly shipments of vaccines from the state and, eventually, directly from Pfizer, we cannot guarantee the timing or quantity of available vaccines in the future.
Again, this is a rapidly changing process and we appreciate everyone’s patience as we navigate through it while continuing to provide excellent care to our patients.