The Area’s First Vaccination

Lake Martin Community Hospital

STORY BY BRITTANY SMITH & PHOTOS BY SIRI HEDREEN

Not all heroes wear a cape. Some wear scrubs, and it is no secret that frontline workers kept the world spinning in 2020 and 2021, especially in the Dadeville community.

“The best thing that happened to us through the pandemic was that Lake Martin Community Hospital was one of just 15 hospitals in Alabama to receive the first round of vaccines,” said Heidi Smith, director of marketing at Ivy Creek Medical.

She said there was no particular reason why LMCH was chosen but that Pharmacist Johnny Latorre was able to secure the specific freezer required to store the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine weeks before they became available to frontline workers and doctors.

“The freezer had to be kept at negative 70 degrees,” Smith said. “But Mike Latorre was instrumental in securing it for the hospital. It cost right at $11,000, but it meant we were able to secure the vaccines, and that was the most important thing for us.”

“I’ll never forget it. It was Dec. 15 when we received the first set of Pfizer vaccines. We were all a little afraid but hopeful, too,” Smith said. “Two days later, on Dec. 17, our CEO here at IVY Creek Healthcare, Mike Bruce, was among the first few to get vaccinated. He wanted to lead by example, and he did. Most of us followed suit, myself included, and then we got our booster 21 days later.”

Dr. Robert Schuster was among the first few to receive the Pfizer vaccine at Lake Martin Community Hospital.

The Pfizer vaccine is currently the only vaccine with a booster available.

“To get the booster, patients must call the main hospital number and make an appointment,” said Kim McDonald, director of nursing at LMCH.

Smith said that the same day they received the vaccine, a nurse practitioner and good friend at our Millbrook Family Care location passed away from the virus.

“It was such a sad day. We found out on the way home that Andrew Atkins had passed away. We cried a lot, but we were thankful to have had the vaccine,” said Smith.

Atkins had a daughter who was graduating from high school the following spring, and in turn, Ivy Creek created the Andrew Atkins Scholarship Fund in memory of him. They awarded the first scholarship to Atkin’s daughter the following May at her high school graduation.

“We determined that the scholarship would be given during hospital week, which happens every year in May. It is a time set aside nationally to honor all hospital employees. Since Andrew’s daughter was graduating in May, we saw fit to award the first-ever Andrew Atkins Scholarship to her,” said Smith.

In addition to creating the scholarship fund, Smith said that the hospital also drastically increased protective measures for all patients, visitors and staff of LMCH.

“Protective measures have been put into place to protect everyone who enters the hospital,” said Smith. “All who enter are screened at the door, and their temperatures are taken using a new automatic thermometer. In addition, we have added sanitation stations all over the hospital. The number of visitors also has been limited to one per person, and masks are required for everyone who enters.

“We now have a large yellow sanitizing machine called the MoonBeam (the staff calls it ‘the birdie’) that sanitizes all of the surfaces in

a room. The staff puts the MoonBeam into a room and leaves. That’s all they have to do. It sanitizes everything.”

Smith said that taking precautions for the staff and community were mandated, but that both the staff and community really stepped up.

As COVID-19 numbers continued to rise across the country, the hospital staff at Lake Martin Community Hospital began to manage more hours at a more demanding pac, and when the community realized the time and effort of the local Frontline workers, they went all in to support the staff.

“The community in Dadeville really stepped up and supported the staff here at LMCH,” said Heidi Smith, Director of Marketing. “There were people who brought by masks, others made hospital gowns and local businesses made sure our

After 38 days at Lake Martin Community Hospital, an 88-year-old patient was sent home COVID-19 free. frontline workers were eating and eating well. “People would call and say, ‘How’s the night shift? Have they been fed?’ This community really stepped up.”