Los Alamos County Emergency Manager Beverley Simpson at Sunday’s Mass Vaccination Clinic in Los Alamos High School’s Griffith Gymnasium. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com

By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com

Los Alamos is on day 414 of the COVID-19 pandemic, but since day one the County has had Emergency Manager Beverley Simpson helping it navigate and overcome this immense obstacle.

“I’m not sure what the County would have done without Beverley during this past year,” County Manager Harry Burgess said. “She has been an amazing asset to our entire community as she led us through our response to the pandemic, and as the event progressed she managed to shift her focus to implementing a very effective vaccination distribution. Los Alamos County is now ranked highest in our state for its portion of the population that have received the shot, and while we are appreciative of all the volunteers that have contributed to this success, Beverley should be congratulated for making it happen.”

Police Chief Dino Sgambellone agreed.

“Beverley has consistently shown exceptional skill in coordinating large events and multi-tasking the numerous responsibilities that fall under her as the Emergency Manager,” he said. “I couldn’t be more impressed with her work ethic and commitment to Emergency Management. Plus, she’s just a great person to be around. Her high level of performance is contagious, and she remains a critical asset to the Police Department and the citizens of Los Alamos County.”

The numbers back up what Simpson, along with volunteers and others in the community, have accomplished. In her most recent COVID report, Simpson shows that 19,985 cumulative doses for all phases of the vaccination process have been administered in Los Alamos. This means that 80.6 percent of the population has received their first dose of the vaccine and 52.9 percent of the population has received both doses of the vaccine.

Simpson told the Los Alamos Daily Post that as of Tuesday, April 27, 25 clinics have been held. Furthermore, she said that it is anticipated that everyone will be fully vaccinated by the end of May. This does not include 12-15-year-olds because approval is still needed to inoculate them, Simpson said.

“It has been a lot of work and it’s been amazing the support we have received from the community,” she said. “The volunteers, our residents, our students and school system, the County support – it has all tied together to reach this. We are number one in the state as far as inoculations … we couldn’t have done that without our partners … we have other entities that are vaccinating – LANL, Smith’s, MANNM, Los Alamos Medical Care Clinic, LAMC, everyone is helping out to achieve these numbers.”

“I really want to stress that without Nambe Drugs and the volunteers we wouldn’t be where we are today,” Simpson added.

Many in the community involved in the vaccination effort praised Simpson for her part, too.

“Beverley Simpson has been our primary contact with the County in coordinating vaccination clinics at Los Alamos High School,” LAPS Superintendent Kurt Steinhaus said. “She has served as a champion and a real local hero. We appreciate her excellent coordination and communications. With Beverley’s help along with Nambe Drugs and NMDOH, we have vaccinated over 90 percent of LAPS employees and over 500 students ages 16-18.”

“She’s an angel,” Nambe Pharmacy Manager Cindy Orr said. “There is no way we could have done this without her. She has been incredible. Absolutely incredible.”

County Councilor Sara Scott, who also volunteers at the vaccination clinics, agreed.

“Ms. Simpson continues to demonstrate true leadership, effective organizational skills, and a real passion for doing all she can to help the county navigate and minimize the impacts of the pandemic,” Scott said. “From the earliest stages she worked hard to establish, grow and nurture contacts that would significantly enhance the County’s initial response tool kit. Most recently she has worked tirelessly with Nambe Drugs to support mass vaccination clinics – these clinics have had a real impact on getting our citizens vaccinated. As of April 27, these clinics have provided more than 10,000 vaccinations; 81 percent of eligible residents in our county have had one shot and 53 percent are fully vaccinated. Throughout all of this she has been available to provide immediate answers to questions and information to update our community regarding where we are and where we are headed with respect to testing, infection rates and vaccinations. We are so fortunate to have her experience and ability to just keep going – she has and will continue to make a real difference.”

County Public Information Officer Julie Habiger also commended Simpson.

“As the PIO for the County, maintaining open communication with the Emergency Manager on a regular basis is critical in any emergency, and I have appreciated the frequent updates, emails, phone calls and follow-ups with DOH to answer questions that I have received during the pandemic,” Habiger said. “Beverley has been highly responsive as well in helping us field questions about the pandemic and the vaccine that we receive through social media, and I appreciate everything that she has done this past year to assist me in getting the word out to our community and keeping everyone updated on what is happening at the local, state and national level.”

The pandemic may be something few have experienced before but Simpson said her background working in the military as well as Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) helped prepare her to respond effectively to the COVID outbreak.

Since 2015, Simpson has served on the New Mexico Air National Guard in different positions including senior administrator and commander of its medical group. Additionally, she served in the Air Force Reserves and worked for five years at LANL in several positions including Biological Emergency Sampling Team Project Lead, Hazardous Response Team, LANL DHS Radiological Community Preparedness Project and Actinide Chemist.

Simpson also supported and developed plans for the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City and the Space Shuttle Recovery mission and was involved in developing plans for the Ebola Response for NORAD-NORTHCOM.

“They were just stepping stones to get to this point,” Simpson said, adding, “I’ve had an amazing career and have been blessed beyond measure. I’m thankful to be in the position I am to help my community.”