Covida

Covida – a care institution for children and adults with disabilities – has six locations in East and South Limburg. This geographical spread meant it was no easy task to organise a streamlined vaccination campaign for community residents and staff. However, Covida was able to count on support from Mensura for the vaccination of the employees.

• Eddy Houben, prevention advisor at Covida.
• Viviane Tijskens, head of the medical service at Covida.
• An Houbrechts, Limburg operations manager at Mensura.
• Piet Janssen, team supervisor for nurses in Limburg at Mensura.

Eddy: “We had only been working with Mensura for a few months when the Covid-19 pandemic started. So our young relationship was put to the test quite quickly. We were forced to switch to telephone conversations for medical examinations of our staff. Not an easy situation. But getting our employees vaccinated quickly was an even bigger challenge.”

“In the first phase, our IT department compiled a list of everyone who wanted to be vaccinated. This was about 750 employees. We then formed a separate vaccination team at each location, headed by a supervisor who arranged all the practical matters: preparation of vaccination rooms, provision of nursing staff, follow-up of administration, etc.”

“If I had any questions during the entire process, I could contact An, our Mensura contact person. She was always available. E-mail was supplemented by text messages or WhatsApp for quick responses. Her efficient, clear communication was invaluable during this hectic period.”

Viviane: “We were supported by Mensura nurses during vaccination periods. They helped explain the online registration of the vaccinations to the site managers, prepared the vaccines, and gave the shots.”

“We were counting on thirty vaccinations per hour, but in the end it went a lot faster. Meticulous preparation played a major role in this, but the calm professionalism of the Mensura people was also a major factor.”

“In the meantime, all our employees have received their two vaccines, and a large part of the residents too. This means we can allow a few more visitors while still remaining careful. Taking our foot of the brakes is certainly not on the agenda yet.”

An: “We have organised vaccination campaigns in residential care centres before. But this project with Covida was of a completely different order. The different locations and less extensive nursing experience compared to residential care centres presented unique challenges. After all, Covida mainly employs educators with less medical training.”

“As always, we opted for the most personal approach possible. Our advice was very broad: from the layout of the vaccination rooms to the organisation of the car park. We made everyone at Covida as comfortable as possible during the preparation, and then during the vaccination moments themselves. That was the key to success.”

Piet: “The fact that everything went so smoothly can be attributed to the huge commitment from everyone at Covida. The drive was immense. Not just from Eddy and Viviane, but also from the location managers and their teams. Everything was always clearly discussed and prepared to the last detail. This allowed us to work smoothly and efficiently on the days themselves.”

“There was also very nice collaboration within Mensura. It seems obvious, but in such an intense, highly unusual situation, it’s not always easy. The fact that the people at Covida called us a well-oiled machine was therefore a fantastic compliment.”