2009
Executive Council, Office of the Chief Information Officer

In June 2009 the World Health Organization raised the level of influenza pandemic alert from Phase 5 to Phase 6. Time was short to develop a mass immunization registry that would address the increased urgency. With a two month delivery deadline looming, Jeffrey Boone was called upon by the Office of the Chief Information Officer to step up and fill the role of Lead System Developer.

As the lead programmer for the development of the pandemic Mass Immunization Registry, Jeffrey’s efforts helped Newfoundland and Labrador achieve what no other province was able to – deployment of a real time computer system to the hundreds of mass immunization clinics across the province in a way that was simple for health care providers to learn and adopt. It has since been said that no other province was so in control and well informed as to the progress and appropriate distribution of the vaccine delivery.

Jeffrey worked tirelessly throughout the period leading up to the development of the system – so much so that it was not uncommon to hear his colleagues ask him to ‘Log-off”, in other words go home and get some sleep.

On November 1, the “whiz kid” rose to the occasion and presented the Registry application. In doing so Jeffrey not only met the challenge presented by tight deadlines and unknown dates regarding vaccination releases – he did it a full 14 days ahead of schedule. Ever the consummate professional, Jeffrey included in the application roll-out a user manual and training for Regional Health Authority trainers.

In the face of great time constraints and with the health of the people of his province on the line, Jeffrey Boone completed his task with wisdom and composure well beyond his years. He is the model of how the public is served by dedicated government employees.