INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PARTNERED TO MAKE VACCINE DELIVERY POSSIBLE
Dozens of CIO Division staff offered operational support and technology services to open the largest vaccine point of distribution for our community and in Southern Arizona.
A Partnership that Made Vaccine Delivery Possible
At the start of 2021, the 24/7 Support Center was helping 46,000 students start another spring semester of remote learning. But on January 11, they also learned that in one week the University was opening a COVID vaccine point of distribution (POD) on the University Mall for Pima County residents.
Staff from across the CIO Division coordinated closely with the University’s COVID Incident Command, Facilities Management, and UA Health Sciences, as well as external partners Pima County Health Department and Tucson Medical Center.
CIO Division staff equipped and connected the new mobile offices and tents on the Mall, including adding more Wi-Fi access points to the entire location. 30 iPads were ordered and fitted with additional power bricks to allow continuous digital access to vital information.
The 24/7 Support Center staff used their student worker scheduling software and operational skills to schedule POD volunteer shifts. Many hours were spent training volunteers in using the tech and accessing the right information systems.
A united effort from CIO Division staff made sure the POD was open a week after the call to action was given.
Later, when the site crossed over from a Pima County POD to a State of Arizona vaccination site, CIO staff made sure the equipment, appointment system access and volunteer training were updated to meet the different system’s technology needs. When spring temperatures began to rise on the mall, iPad cases with ice packs were located and ordered to keep the tech running, hours expanded to two shifts a day and iPads were increased to 125.
All day, every day—from January 19 to June 25—technicians were on hand to distribute equipment, train volunteers, support technology issues, swap out battery and ice packs, and collect and sanitize equipment at the end of the day.
It took pharmaceutical research and medical professionals to put shots in arms. It took volunteers—and scheduling, training, and equipment for those volunteers—to move thousands of people a day through a quick and efficient process for getting those shots.
1 VOLUNTEER CHECKPOINT
Support included appointment and walk-up parking, drive-through coordination, and access to Pima County and State appointment systems on iPads
2 FIX-IT FOR APPOINTMENT ISSUES
Technicians ensured network and laptop access to make appointments in County and State data systems.
3 WALK-UP VACCINATIONS
Tech support included setting up laptops and iPads, systems access and user support for all steps of the process.
4 DRIVE-THROUGH VACCINATION
Technicians provided and maintained data connection to State records and health information for scribes with laptops and iPads.
5 POST-VACCINE MONITORING
Included a dedicated parking lot technical support person with WiFi and cellular connectivity for iPads with ice packs.
A MOBILE OFFICES
Laptops, monitors, Zoom camera feeds and network connections were set up. Ongoing tech support was maintained for offices of Incident Command, Facilities, and Health personnel.
B VOLUNTEER PROTOCOL
UITS Support Services provided the operational logistics for volunteer shifts including scheduling software.
C VOLUNTEER TRAINING
CIO Division staff provided video, in-person, and hands-on training for using tech systems.
D TECH SUPPORT OFFICE
CIO Division staff managed location for laptop iPad storage and charging, freezer for cooling case ice packs, and homebase for tech personnel.
“For a few weeks there, as we converted from County to State, CIO Division staff really got their hands dirty in terms of training and outlining what that new workflow was going to look like.”
“It’s just been a crazy amount of teamwork and coordination across multiple teams.”
“I would say there’s just such a tangible feeling of one goal that we’re all working towards, and that just being the health of the community — it’s incredible.”