OMC Leadership Award Recognizes Karen Bright and Julie Black

Director of Pharmacy Karen Bright (left) and Director of Support Services Julie Black (right) each received the OMC Leadership Award for their collaborative work in organizing and managing both employee and community COVID-19 vaccination events.

Director of Pharmacy Karen Bright and Director of Support Services Julie Black each received the OMC Leadership Award in February for their collaborative work in organizing and managing both employee and community COVID-19 vaccination events.

“Karen and Julie worked with clinical and non-clinical teams at OMC and outside our organization as well to build safe and efficient processes, allowing us to safely provide Pfizer vaccine,” says Darryl Wolfe, chief executive officer. “We are thankful to them and the rest of the vaccination clinic team for their dedication to safety and quality.”

As a pharmacist, Bright’s staunch focus on the details and technical expertise of the vaccine showed. “Karen brought the recommendation to us early on to purchase the ultra-low temperature freezer, which was a critical moment for our community to ensure we had a place to store the vaccine when it was ready and approved for distribution,” says Wolfe.

As head of many OMC support departments – including emergency preparation – Black’s relationships with key individuals throughout the medical center and in the community helped ensure various parts were in place to support the distribution of the vaccine to health care workers, then the community.

“These vaccine clinics have a significant amount of logistics and Julie handles those with professional ease,” says Wolfe. “She knows who to ask, who to talk to and how to connect the dots to make sure things go as planned and that we have alternate options, if needed. She’s boots on the grounds at nearly every clinic, too, volunteering her time.”