New London — Lawrence + Memorial Hospital vaccinated three of its front-line workers with the COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday morning, joining hospitals across the state and the country in a campaign aimed at ending the pandemic.

The vaccinations, broadcast via Zoom, were administered shortly after 8:30 a.m.

“This represents a day of hope in our fight against this pandemic that has ravaged our community and our country the last nine to 10 months,” Patrick Green, L+M’s president and chief executive officer, said at the start of the event.

He said vaccines are “the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Kate Graves, an advanced practice registered nurse, received the first injection, followed by Donna Whitehouse, a patient care assistant, and Dawn Kirk, who works in the food and nutrition department.

Graves said she and a friend who is a co-worker have been working on a COVID-19 unit since the pandemic began.

“Our treatment options are minimal,” she said. “We’re excited for this next step and to feel more protected at work.”

Whitehouse said she got the vaccine in hopes that it would enable her to more frequently visit a grandson she’s been unable to see as much as she’d like. 

“I’m here especially for my mom,” said Kirk, who cares at home for her mother, a three-time cancer survivor nearing 80 years of age. “I’ve been waiting for this all year.”

“Everybody who walks through the front door here every day — we’re all heroes,” she said.

Dr. Oliver Mayorga, L+M’s chief medical officer, said the hospital expects to vaccinate thousands of employees over the next seven to eight weeks. Health care workers at Westerly Hospital — like L+M, an affiliate of Yale New Haven Health — will be vaccinated at the direction of the Rhode Island Department of Health, Mayorga said.

L+M received its first shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine Tuesday evening and expects to receive daily deliveries from Yale New Haven going forward, he said.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com