People caring for people. That’s what our high-volume vaccination site was all about.

Just over a year ago, partners determined to protect the community from COVID-19 launched the mass vaccination site at the Auburn Mall. St. Patrick’s Day 2021 was filled with hope as the light at the end of a seemingly endless tunnel shone a bit brighter.

Joy was in the air as Central Maine Healthcare, the cities of Auburn and Lewiston, and the state of Maine opened the site that day. The patients gained a measure of relief with their shots. The people staffing the site took pride in fighting the pandemic in such a tangible way.

It was an efficient operation. When demand was at its highest, we were providing shots to more than 1,300 people in a single day. Design and orderliness were on our side, but we never approached vaccination as a manufacturing process or the site as an assembly line.

It was a village of trained volunteers, well-wishing mall walkers and workers and supporters who’d drop by with snacks and supplies. We had Maine National Guard members screening visitors and telling corny jokes to put kids at ease. Friends old and new came around seeking vaccination or a way to help. Many community and healthcare partners made it possible to build this village at an accessible and tidy location provided generously by the Auburn Mall.

Some of our patients needed additional time and care and we were happy to provide it – sometimes an hour or more and over multiple interactions. They may have needed informed, non-judgmental answers to their questions, been nervous or with mobility or other challenges.

It wasn’t uncommon for a vaccinator and a helper to bundle themselves up in their winter gear and head out to the parking lot to administer vaccine to a frail patient in a vehicle.

One patient with autism was so wary of needles that his first dose was administered elsewhere while under anesthesia for another medical purpose. We provided the second dose in the family’s car, where the quiet and familiar surroundings made the process easier.

Another patient with anxiety around shots was prone to fainting, and we knew to have a stretcher on hand just in case for her next dose.

We fielded questions about side effects, allergic reactions, immunity, fertility and much more. One young woman hoped to start a family soon and was torn because while she wanted to get vaccinated, her partner was staunchly opposed. As was always the case, we provided information on the latest science so people could make the best choice for themselves.

Hundreds of volunteers stepped up in a time of need to help their neighbors as well as patients from all over the state and even from other countries. Clinicians gave shots or prepared vaccine. Non-clinical folks served as line managers, registrars, screeners and in other jobs necessary to run the site. They were from the community, Maine Responds and other partner organizations, or deployed by the Maine National Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

We partnered with New Mainers and cultural brokers and had interpretation services at the ready to help with the vaccination of patients new to our country, and we had a great back-to-school event.

Many volunteers told us how they had felt helpless before vaccination was available and that they were with us to fight back. It was thrilling to see how they embraced the mission and took ownership of it. Before long, things would click for them and they were showing new arrivals the ropes and finding ways to improve the process.

After a full year of operation, we accomplished so much together. The engagement of hundreds of community members. Unprecedented partnerships forged to meet a vital need. An incredible number of doses — 65,579 — of vaccine administered. That total included more than 600 doses daily during the post-holiday surge when other mass vaccination sites were no longer operating.

We continued to see new patients right through our last day of operation, including one who needed a shot to return home to Scotland, and aimed for their experience to be just as joyful as those who received them on March 17, 2021. All the while, we held on to that feeling of gratification.

The cooperation among Central Maine Healthcare, Auburn, Lewiston and the state and other partners — including Androscoggin County Emergency Management Agency, St. Mary’s Health System, Tri-County EMS, the National Guard and the Auburn Mall — was pivotal in vaccinating the population to fight this pandemic.

This monumental accomplishment at our site — the longest continuously operating one in Maine — could not have been achieved without incredible community support. We are grateful that they made it possible to build our “village” at the mall, and we are blessed to have been part of it.

Jen Jordan, RN, BSN, is Central Maine Healthcare’s system director of medical specialties and was co-manager of the mass vaccination site. Auburn Fire Chief Bob Chase was co-manager of the site.