Nicole Aimone, Editor-in-Chief
Dr. Andrew Harris, left, gets his COVID-19 vaccine from Peggy Kinney, Infection Prevention/Employee Health 
Frontline Healthcare workers at the Richland Hospital receive COVID-19 vaccines. 
DeAnna Caspers, Obstetrics Director, left, Brenda Cupp Medical Assistant, center, and Dave Kepler PharmD Clinical Pharmacist, prepare doses of COVID-19 vaccinations at the Richland Hospital.
The Spring Green Medical Clinic, a subsidiary of the Richland Hospital, is hosting daily COVID-19 vaccine clinics to distribute vaccines to eligible individuals in the area.
The clinics offer vaccines to individuals who fall into the current distribution phase, Monday through Friday, with appointment slots available approximately 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Currently, the clinic is servicing individuals 65 years and older, along with individuals who fall into phase 1A, which includes frontline healthcare workers, first responders and phase 1B, including additional healthcare workers, corrections workers and funeral workers.
“We plan to be doing this here for the next two to three months,” said Lyle Kratochwill, Richland Hospital Emergency Management coordinator. “We’ll be expanding based on the vaccine allocations that we get.”
The vaccination is provided to community members at no charge, however the hospital does charge an administration fee that can be fully covered by health insurance, medicare, medicaid and employer or the federal government.
The Richland Hospital is also providing vaccine clinics, Kratochwill said the hospital is waiting for the Muscoda Health Clinic to receive their status as a vaccinator, and plans to hold clinics there as well.
“The vaccine comes in a multi-dose vial, so when you plan a vaccine clinic, you try to plan a certain number of doses that are in multiples of six, we want to try to avoid wasting any one dose,” said Kratochwill. “It [a clinic] makes it much easier to know that we’re going to schedule the groups that we can and how much vaccines to deliver.”
Attendees are required to attest to what group they qualify for, meaning they will be asked a series of questions to determine eligibility when making an appointment. This includes being asked how they qualify for phase 1A and 1B, and the clinic verifying the individual’s date of birth.
To set up an appointment, visit www.richlandhospital.com/covid19/
Vaccines around the Valley
Late last week, Sauk County Public Health launched a COVID-19 vaccine locator map, for residents to find a location to receive a vaccine at different locations throughout the county.
The locator can be found at www.saukpublichealth.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.