In the heart of Pitt’s campus, situated conveniently in Nordenberg Hall, across from Starbucks and accessible via public transportation, lies a beacon of community health and wellness — the Pitt Vaccination and Health Connection Hub (Hub). What began as a response to the urgent needs of a pandemic has evolved into a comprehensive health care destination, thanks to the tireless efforts of dedicated health professionals and the seamless integration of technology.

“As the crisis of the pandemic began to ease, we realized that we could play an important role in community health on an ongoing basis,” says Melissa Somma McGivney, professor and executive director of the Hub at 4041 Fifth Avenue. “We were fortunate to be working closely with University Pharmacy and realized there was a location right next door where we could continue to provide vaccinations and an access point to health care for many people at Pitt and in the surrounding communities. We created another avenue for making vaccines easier to acquire, while also connecting people to preventive care.”

Collaborative Innovation

McGivney, along with the leadership of the COVID Medical Response Team, led by John Williams, MD, reached out to Pitt Information Technology’s Chad Burton, executive director of Transformation and Analytics, and Jamie Craig, associate director of Enterprise Applications, who helped get the Hub up and running in Jan./Feb. 2021. The initial COVID-19 vaccination system was a bare-bones, custom-built web application that took advantage of the University’s existing Microsoft infrastructure. But as the Hub sought to offer additional services, it was clearly insufficient.

As Craig explained, “While our first CoVax solution was effective, it did not feature the functionality needed to expand beyond the initial COVID regimen. Microsoft anticipated that they would not be able to provide the features needed to support booster shots until late October 2021, and the projected costs exceeded the available funding.”

This did not match with the Hub’s schedule or budget. So, the Hub and Pitt IT decided to build their own vaccination management system! Enter Sandy Waterbec, manager of Enterprise CRM, who worked with Kate Brownlee, director of operations at the Hub, and Sophia Herbert, PharmD, assistant professor of Pharmacy and Therapeutics and a leader in community pharmacy initiatives, to build an MVP solution, or minimum viable product. “We developed a system that could handle the initial COVID vaccines, boosters, flu shots, and then pneumonia vaccines very quickly,” Waterbec notes.

The partnership with Pitt IT has been crucial to enabling the Hub’s rapid growth. The IT team applied an agile approach to develop a unified system that includes a sophisticated online scheduling portal; the utilization of mobile devices for scanning QR codes to welcome registered patients, record vaccines, and other health information; and sending patients HIPAA-compliant email.

Automating State Reporting Requirements

Pitt’s integration with the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s new Pennsylvania Immunization Electronic Registry Service (PIERS) database system enabled automated uploading of vaccine records. This initiative positioned the University as a leader in helping providers interface with PIERS, streamlining a process that was confounding many.

Brownlee knows this couldn’t have happened without the close collaboration between the health and technology experts. The key was taking the time to understand everyone’s needs. Pitt IT hired Evan Johnson to the Enterprise CRM team as a Salesforce developer. With a strong background in pharmacy management systems, he now leads the team supporting the system. McGivney, Brownlee, and Herbert took the lead from a clinical perspective. Together, the IT team gained an in-depth knowledge of what the Hub does, while the Hub participated fully in the development and testing phases.

“It wasn’t our job to understand the tech, but it was our responsibility to not be intimidated by it,” Brownlee explains. “We worked with Pitt IT to explain what we needed to do and provide clear and constructive feedback on the solutions they were developing.”

Craig agrees. “It speaks to the talent of the entire team that we could so quickly understand and translate the clinical needs into a workable technical solution. It required a tremendous amount of creativity and problem-solving.”

A Regional Nexus for Supporting International Travel

Today, the array of services provided at the Hub is remarkable. It offers nearly two dozen vaccines, including all routine adult vaccines and pediatric flu and COVID for kids age 5 and older. The Hub has become a regional nexus for supporting international travelers. They offer several uncommon vaccines that are available in just a handful of locations in the entire state, as well as providing pre-travel consultations with personalized vaccine recommendations based on the travel destination and prophylactic prescriptions for common travel ailments.

The Hub's commitment to care extends beyond vaccines. With a keen focus on patient-centeredness and holistic care, the team goes the extra mile to connect individuals with other essential services, such as health and wellness screenings and helping patients to identify primary care providers. At the same time, teaching and learning are part and parcel of the health services offered at the Hub. It is a hands-on learning for students in a wide range of health disciplines — from pharmacy and medicine, to nursing, public health, dental medicine, and more. With faculty and staff oversight, students assist patients in filling out forms, administering injections, taking vitals, and providing patient education.

A Teaching and Learning Center

As the Pitt Vaccination and Health Connection Hub continues to evolve and expand its services, the synergy between dedicated health care professionals and forward-thinking technologists remains the driving force behind its success. With a shared vision of connecting communities to care, the Hub stands as a testament to the power of innovation, compassion, and collaboration in shaping a healthier future for all.

If you require a vaccine or are traveling internationally to a destination that requires specialized vaccinations, let the Hub help you. Go to healthhub.pitt.edu to learn more about the services they offer and to make an appointment. Walk-ins are also welcome subject to availability. The Pitt Vaccination and Health Connection Hub proudly serves members of the Pittsburgh public and surrounding communities.

-- By Karen Beaudway, Pitt IT Blogger