Hello! Destination Management is proud to partner with University Medical Center, Las Vegas.
When many people think of a corporate event, they envision a ballroom full of beautiful tables set for an evening of great food, or an open bar with a few hundred of your closest karaoke compatriots. While this version of corporate event may be paused for the time being, there’s still a way to use the skill of planning and executing a large-scale event to create a great experience. Since May, our Las Vegas office has been servicing a different kind of event, partnering with the team at University Medical Center, Las Vegas to provide Covid-19 testing to thousands, including partnering with local resorts and casinos to test hospitality workers to aid in their safe return to work.
While planning a large mobile medical site comes with its own unique challenges, on top of the pre-existing social distancing challenges, the steps to plan, design and execute the site shares more in common with a corporate event than you may think. The site’s location at the LVCC Las Vegas Convention Center is a familiar venue to Las Vegas event companies, and our close relationship with the city’s top event rental companies allowed us to partner with suppliers we knew had a focus on cleanliness and a large enough quantity of rental items to fit the project.
Hello! Las Vegas General Manager Craig Bullock, Director of Operations Ron Alvarez, Account Manager Matt Erickson and Director of Creative Services Rachel Matsukawa worked with Destiny Hampton, University Medical Center of Southern Nevada’s Physician Experience Coordinator to assist UMC’s testing experts with designing the site’s overall flow. Having previously worked with Destiny in a previous role as one of our food and beverage partners, we had a great working relationship and were able to quickly mobilize a plan. Using knowledge of event logistics and advisement from Clark County and CDC guidelines, our team developed the site’s ingress and egress, check-in and processing flow, and designed wayfinding and instructional signage to direct guests.
We were also responsible for staffing the many positions required before and after guests met with testing staff, including parking attendants, greeters, and check-in attendants. UMC is a leading nonprofit health system with a highly respected Level I trauma center, and they are renowned at providing efficient, high quality care. Working with their experience team to manage the fluctuating weekly staffing needs allowed the hospital to focus on testing and not managing the huge influx of patients that also need to be socially distant.
Originally intended to be set up for one month to support the boom in hospitality workers needing testing, the site was extended until the end of August and continues to take scheduled patients. We’re proud to have a little part in helping our fellow hospitality community and helping the greater Las Vegas community recover and safely reopen. Whether you’re one of our clients, a hotelier, a supplier partner or an industry colleague, we can’t wait to create some event magic with you again soon. We hope this story gave you a little reminder that even during a pandemic, a live event can still help change the world.