The Municipality of Kincardine received a commemorative plaque for the role the Davidson Centre played during the region’s mass Covid immunization effort earlier this year.
Grey Bruce’s Medical Officer of Health Dr. Ian Arra presented it to the municipality on Oct. 4.
The Davidson Centre was one of several hockey hub clinics regularly used in Grey Bruce, along with the P & H Centre in Hanover, and the Bayshore Community Centre and Julie McArthur Regional Rec Centre in Owen Sound.
More than 27,000 doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines were administered at the Davidson Centre.
Kincardine Mayor Gerry Glover says the Davidson Centre served a critical role in vaccine distribution in the region.
“Our community should be proud of the innovation, collaboration, and tremendous efforts of the staff and volunteers who made our ‘Hockey Hub’ possible. Thank you to the Grey Bruce Health Unit for acknowledging the incredible work done at the Davidson Centre this year and for their outstanding leadership throughout the Covid pandemic,” says Glover.
Kincardine’s Community Emergency Management Coordinator Shane Watson adds, the development and implementation of the hockey hub model would not have been possible without with the many hours residents and community collaboration devoted to plan, set up, greet and screen, assist with parking, enter health information, and administer the vaccine itself.
For the coordination of parking alone, the Davidson Centre welcomed the volunteer efforts of approximately 80 individuals who worked roughly 18,200 hours over six months
Davidson Centre Facility Supervisor Frank Tourloukis says, “many members of our community selflessly sacrificed their sports seasons so the gymnasium could be used for the vaccination centre.”
The health unit continues to encourage those who have not gotten their shots yet to book an appointment on the Public Health website, as there are still local opportunities to receive one.