Seif Elashry at the Our Winning Shot vaccine clinic at Scotiabank Arena on June 27th, 2021.
On Sunday, June 27th, 2021 the city of Toronto administered 26,771 vaccines, breaking the North American record for the most COVID-19 vaccines administrated in one day at a single clinic. IndE alumn, Seif Elashry (IndE 1T9+PEY), an Improvement Analyst at Michael Garron Hospital, was part of the team that made this record-breaking clinic possible.
Seif joined the team at Michael Garron Hospital in September 2020. In his role he aims to help the hospital run as efficiently as possible from both a patient safety and care perspective. This involves identifying where improvements can be made and developing quality improvement plans to be put into action.
“I originally hoped to pursue a master’s degree in healthcare engineering after graduating, but knowing that in-person learning may not have been possible due to the pandemic I opted to gain some work experience instead,” Elashry explained. “Professor Michael Carter (MIE) really inspired me to pursue a career in healthcare after I spent the summer working on a project with him. I saw this position at Michael Garron Hospital where I would be able to put to use everything I learned in my undergrad and it all fell into place.”
As vaccines began to be distributed in Canada in December 2020, Seif reached out to his director to express his interest in assisting with the roll-out. He has been a part of the huge endeavor of getting vaccines into arms since mid-December.
Michael Garron Hospital first hit a vaccination milestone on May 16 when 10,471 vaccines were administered in a single day at the Thorncliffe Park Community Hub clinic which broke the Canadian record. As vaccine supply continues to increase, the plan to host another record-breaking clinic began to form.
In less than two weeks the City of Toronto, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), University Health Network and Michael Garron Hospital planned a mass vaccination clinic to take place at ScotiaBank Arena with the goal of vaccinating 25,000 people.
“We had 10 days to organize the clinic. While in many ways it was a natural progression from what we were already running at Thorncliffe Park, there were still a number of logistics to account for,” said Elashry, “My role mainly involved looking at the plans from a flow perspective and looking out for any red flags. I also worked with other analysts and another hospital to build a booking system that would automatically send out confirmations to those who registered.”
On the day of the clinic it was all-hands-on-deck as volunteers, vaccinators and support staff found their rhythm. Despite a slow start and some initial challenges in the process, the team were able to administer an average of 1,000 shots every 30 minutes and shatter the North American record. Elashry himself was pulling numbers from the COVAX system and watching the vaccination count go higher and higher throughout the day.
“It was truly an amazing day to be a part of. I really feel as though I have found my niche in healthcare engineering and at Michael Garron Hospital. I feel so inspired to continue on this path and help identify gaps in our system and bring greater equity, inclusivity and process improvements to the Canadian healthcare system.”
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-Published June 29, 2021 by Lynsey Mellon, lynsey@mie.utoronto.ca
