PHOENIX (Dec. 17, 2020) – Emily Beck was the first Banner Health frontline health care worker in Arizona to receive the COVID-19 vaccine today as Banner opened its COVID-19 vaccination clinics in central Phoenix.

Following her overnight shift as a nurse in the intensive care unit at Banner University Medical Center – Phoenix, Beck pulled into the drive-through vaccine lane at 8 a.m. at the Arizona State Fairgrounds and then proceeded inside, with other Banner frontline staff following. Beck has worked in the ICU at Banner University Medical Center – Phoenix since the beginning of the pandemic and said she feels excited, honored and privileged to receive the vaccine.

B-roll available: Banner Health team members getting vaccinated against COVID-19

About 165 frontline health care workers were scheduled to receive the vaccine at the fairgrounds today, with operations scaling up over the next week. When fully operational, Banner should be able to provide more than 1,000 vaccinations per day by appointment at the site. Next week, Banner will open a second vaccination site in Maricopa county at Banner Del E. Webb Medical Center in Sun City West.

Banner University Medical Center – Tucson also began providing vaccinations to Pima County healthcare workers today. Banner team members Iris Delfakis, RN, nurse navigator and Christian Bime, MD, Medical Intensive Care Unit medical director and Melissa Zukowski, MD, Emergency Department medical director were the first to receive them.

Banner Churchill Community Hospital in Fallon Nev, was the system’s first go-live site, providing vaccinations Wednesday.

In Greeley and Loveland, Colorado, Banner team members prepared to deliver 830 vaccines to frontline health care workers between Thursday morning and Sunday noon. Nurses delivering the vaccine as well as the physicians and advance practice providers who were first to receive it agreed they were participating in an historic event.

Banner, which operates in six states, will operate COVID-19 vaccination clinics in all of those states.

In providing vaccines, Banner is following national protocols that ask that the frontline health care workers receive the first vaccinations against COVID-19. Banner is working with local health departments in each of our six states to make sure our team members can schedule their vaccinations.

A Safe Place for Care

As one of the largest nonprofit health care systems in the country, the team at Banner Health is committed to ensuring all Banner locations are a safe place for care. Headquartered in Phoenix, Banner Health owns and operates 30 acute-care hospitals and an array of other services, including: Banner Imaging, Banner Telehealth and Banner Urgent Care. Team members are dedicated to protecting the health and safety of patients, be it a routine checkup, elective surgery or an urgent health service. Waiting room and employee workstation layouts maintain proper social distancing; screenings are conducted at hospital entrances to verify that all employees and visitors are well; and, all Banner physicians are equipped to visit patients remotely. Learn more about Banner's commitment to safety at bannerhealth.com/safecare.

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