News Photo by Kayla Wikaryasz The vaccine refrigerator in the MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena’s Inpatient Pharmacy. During the power outages following the recent ice storm, District Health Department No. 4 stored vaccines here.

ALPENA — The District Health Department No. 4 maintained vaccine safety despite power outages and generator issues during the recent ice storm.

Kelly Girard, DHD4 nursing director, explained that despite the poor weather conditions, she made it to the Alpena DHD4 office to check the temperatures of the vaccines they keep there. But when she arrived, the generator had failed.

Girard explained that it is crucial for vaccines to stay at certain temperatures. If temperatures in the refrigeration and freezer systems dip below or rise above a certain temperature, these occurrences are called excursions. If an excursion occurs, an attached system called a sensaphone alerts specific people on their phones.

Girard explained that when these people are alerted by the sensaphone, they are required to check the vaccines and figure out why there was an excursion. In the case of a power outage, Girard said immediate action is taken to ensure the vaccines are not compromised.

“We have to respond by taking vaccines to other places,” Girard said.

Girard explained that the alert system is backed by the internet. When the internet went down, Girard said the alert system went down as well.

“With the sensaphones, they went down because they are backed by internet service,” Girard said. “So that made things a little more complicated in trying to follow up.”

Though the DHD4 offices can be powered by generators in times of power outages, the generator at the Alpena DHD4 office failed during the ice storm.

“There (were) no lights in the building. We were flashlighting it,” Girard said. “The power did come on, the generator kicked on for maybe three minutes, and then went back out again. So, we were able to move that vaccine.”

According to Girard, when there is an emergency, the DHD4 requires employees to take vaccines to first priority buildings (i.e., places where power is restored first). For example, during the recent power outages, Alpena DHD4 office vaccines were taken to the MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena pharmacy.

“We moved the vaccine in the Alpena office to the hospital pharmacy for safekeeping because they, too, are on a generator,” Girard said.

Girard explained that for the Atlanta DHD4 office vaccines, they are taken to the Atlanta sheriff’s department; Rogers City DHD4 office vaccines are taken to the Rogers City sheriff’s department; Cheboygan DHD4 vaccines are taken to the McLaren Northern Michigan Cheboygan Campus.

According to Girard, vaccine refrigeration temperatures are diligently recorded, and there are specific protocols DHD4 staff have to follow to maintain the integrity of vaccines.

“We have what we call a data logger on each of those appliances that measures the temperatures because we watch for excursions, either too high or too low,” Girard said. “So those are monitored and looked at every day. We write the temperatures down.”

Girard said that the temperatures are logged every day except on weekends or days that office staff are off. However, the temperatures are still recorded by the data loggers, and office staff can load those results after the fact.

“But we have to download those data loggers every week,” Girard said. “So we’re checking to make sure there hasn’t been an excursion, and that shows that our vaccine is able to be used safely.”

Once an excursion is identified, Girard explained that each manufacturer of that vaccine or drug has to be contacted.

“We have to know how long the excursion was…what’s the highest or lowest temperature is to be able to say, ‘Yes, you can use it,’ or ‘No, you have to get rid of it,'” said Girard.

Overall, Girard said the DHD4 lost its MMR vaccine as a result of generator issues. DHD4 lost 32 doses, but were able to replace them at no cost.

“(The MMR vaccines) have already been replaced because, of course, we are on high alert with the measles, we want to make sure we have that vaccine in the event we need that,” Girard said.

To remedy the issues DHD4 experienced with their alert system, as a result of down internet service, Girard explained that the department is already looking at other systems that may be more reliable in emergency situations.

However, a change to a new system will cost the department and would have to be discussed in future meetings, according to Girard.

Girard also said that the department is investigating what happened with the generators and reviewing emergency policies for future emergencies.

“We’re continuing to work on the generator issues, and we’re finding more and more,” Girard said. “We have a follow-up meeting, we’re looking at our policy to try to put all these pieces together to hopefully be a little more reliable…We hope we never go through that again.”

Kayla Wikaryasz can be reached at 989-358-5688 or kwikaryasz@TheAlpenaNews.com.