Staff to assist with flu effort
Posted By BOB BRUTON
Posted 24 days ago
City employees will pitch in to help with this week's H1N1 (swine) flu vaccination clinics in Barrie.
Council unanimously approved a motion last night to provide staff to support and assist the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit to facilitate the clinics, with the level and amount of such support and assistance at the discretion of CAO Jon Babulic.
The city will supply two teams of 10 people for shifts of six hours each day for the clinics, which run today, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 80 Bradford St., or Barrie by the Bay, the only clinic site in the city.
They will assist with the management of the lineup, hand out questionnaires and set up appointments for those wishing to get their H1N1 flu shot.
"There will be lineups, but this is an unprecedented situation -- at least in our lifetime," said Coun. John Brassard. "Patience is in order."
"The health unit has chosen this location, and I think it has some problems," Coun. Jeff Lehman said. "It is not going to be ideal.
"But we can either help out or be difficult about it."
Participation by city employees will be on a voluntary basis, but they will be paid for their time. The city will later attempt to get compensation from the province for the employees' time.
Only Coun. Mike Ramsay had problems with the motion, initially with the 150 parking spots at 80 Bradford St.
Ramsay wanted to know where the overflow parking would be for those who can't park there.
"You can't expect a mom with a small kid to walk blocks," he said. "Where else can they park?"
He was told traffic will be a city police responsibility and there will be six cruisers in the area today.
"It's a fair point about the parking," Coun. Alex Nuttall said. "There is not going to be enough of it."
City staff said the nearby former Barrie (Dunlop) Arena site, where a new fire hall will be built, is too rough to be used as a parking lot.
Ramsay also wanted to know if city employees would receive the H1N1 flu shot, since they will be working at the clinic.
"Shouldn't they be treated the same way as front-line health care providers?" he asked.
"If they are in the high-risk group, they will be inoculated," Babulic said. "If not, they will have to wait."
The first series of clinics will be delivering flu shots to people with chronic medical conditions who are under the age of 65, healthy children from six months to five years old, health care workers involved in pandemic response or who deliver essential services, people living in remote areas and pregnant women.
Coun. Barry Ward said city staff do not need extra protection to work at the clinics.
"The people who show up at these clinics will be the same people showing up at city hall to pay their taxes," he said. "They are just people. They are not at a greater risk."
Ward said that this location is where the health unit does its vaccination clinics, so it only makes sense to do this one here.
"People will find parking," he said.
bbruton@thebarrieexaminer.com
