“They said it couldn’t be done,” said Oak View Group Media & Conferences chairman Ray Waddell the opening remarks of Production Live!, the precursor of a day Live Poll! June 14. It looks like hosting a major industry conference as the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be abating can, in fact, be done.
Enter Pollstar Live! at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles means either a negative test or proof of a vaccination before obtaining the credentials to participate in the program. Conference attendees can either schedule a test, which can be performed in about 10 minutes on-site, or prove vaccination by filling out the relevant information provided on the COVID vaccination documentation.
“The real initial challenge was that there are a lot of people out there just doing testing or just validating vaccines,” said Dr. Elizabeth Hawk, physician, nuclear medicine physician, neuroradiologist and faculty member. from Stanford Hospital, which was recruited. recently to help Oak View Group determine how best to deliver the annual Pollstar Live! conference during COVID. She responded to this challenge by partnering with Capture Diagnostics.
“The partnership with Capture has been really powerful because we were able to explain the unique need to provide both, together at the same time and to develop a system to manage both testing and vaccine validation to create a space as secure as possible, ”adds Hawk, noting the high level of privacy and the in-depth verification performed through the platform.
Although the start of Production Live! occurred on the same day that California largely relaxed the mask and distancing warrants, Hawk said the goal was to err on the side of caution and in order to ensure that delegates and staff the hotel feel as safe as it gets. Planning months in advance with ever-changing guidelines and deadlines certainly played a role as well.
“Thinking thoughtfully by bringing a group of people from different places, meeting where food and drink is served, we wanted to err more on the side of safety and caution, as we are on the verge of to change, ”Hawk said. “We really wanted to set a standard for a commitment as an industry to a shared culture of wellness and a shared commitment to health and safety. So going a little beyond to show how we can responsibly create space, even though it might be a little above the regulatory requirements that are evolving today, was really important to us.
“The beauty is that we have a great relationship with the hotel, we’ve hosted the conference here for a number of years and some of us have personal relationships with the building management,” adds Russell Gordon, vice -President of Oak View Group Event Services. . “It made it easy for us to come and understand their protocols and align with them. Their goals and objectives are aligned in a very similar way, so it was easy to go in and explain our hopes and expectations and for them to balance our protocols with theirs.
Hawk adds, “We wanted to put in place a plan that gained a high level of trust from the hotel, the health department, our leadership, that in a changing and evolving environment, we were standing by. highest level. “
The response has been positive and the lines so far weak with many already vaccinated and pre-registered in advance.
“For a lot of people, it just reduces that level of anxiety, helping them feel safe in the community,” says Capture Founder and CEO John D’Orazio. “Now knowing that mask mandates are changing and things like that, we always try to be diligent, but everyone has had a great experience and a positive attitude. The patients who come through and know it’s in their best interest have been overwhelmingly supportive. “
