Hospitals in Action >> Case Examples

REGIONAL WEST MEDICAL CENTER, Scottsbluff, NB
Drive-Through Flu Shot Clinics

What is it? 
A collaborative effort between the hospital and a local primary care physicians' group to encourage more people to get flu shots. Nurses and student nurses volunteered for 2-hour shifts on two separate Saturday mornings to give flu shots to patients while they sat in the comfort of their warm cars. The event was promoted with a logo of a "Flu Bug" driving a VW bug, coupled with the slogan "Say Good-bye to the Flu." A media blitz launched the day before the first clinic involved a team of nurses driving around town in an actual VW "Flu Bug" to personally give shots to local media personalities to generate positive publicity.

Who is it for? 
People at high risk for getting the flu.

Why do they do it? 
Staff anticipated that the flu vaccine crisis of 2004 might discourage many people from bothering to get flu shots. By turning a standard public health promotion into a fun media event and increasing the convenience, speed and efficiency of getting flu shots, the drive-through flu shot clinics helped to generate a 35 percent increase in flu shots over the preceding year.

Contact:  Joanne Krieg
Marketing and Public Relations Specialist
Telephone: 308-630-1687
E-mail: kriegjo@rwmc.net