4 Health-Screening Solutions to Streamline Verification for In-Person Events
October 14, 2021
Ensuring the health and safety of attendees, exhibitors and employees working at host venues has become a paramount priority as the industry returns to in-person events. An increasing number of organizers are opting to implement COVID-19 vaccine mandates or negative test requirements in addition to several other health and safety measures. With these trends, the need for streamlined ways to verify proof of health status electronically is on the rise.
The following four health-screening solutions are designed to ease the verification process for everyone involved and, in some cases, provide additional health and safety services.
Clear Health Pass
Clear, the secure identity company specializing in frictionless and safe journeys and experiences, recently launched Clear Health Pass. The free mobile experience on the Clear app securely connects a person’s verified identity to their proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test and also allows them to fill out health surveys.
More than 130 organizations across the country have used Clear Health Pass to help create safer environments, including destinations, sports teams, restaurants and event venues, including the state of Hawaii, Las Vegas Raiders, Seattle Seahawks, Golden State Warriors, Union Square Hospitality Group, Lincoln Center, Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board, and many more.
“It’s a very important time to leverage innovation and put the platforms in place to ensure that we come back better, stay open and give consumers confidence in having safer and easier experiences,” said Caryn Seidman-Becker, co-founder and CEO of Clear. “Clear Health Pass is one simple platform that allows people to enroll once and use it everywhere, and it's easy for partners to turn different modules on and off based on their needs.”
Clear’s partnership with the Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board (LATCB) is one example of how Health Pass can be a successful solution for the events industry.
"By partnering with Clear—already recognized as the travel industry's leading solution provider for secure, expedited airport access—we've been able to use Clear Health Pass to provide professional meeting planners and event participants with an L.A. experience that is safe, seamless and secure,” said Adam Burke, president and CEO of the LATCB. “We are grateful for the critical role that Clear is playing in supporting L.A.'s comeback story."
Another successful partnership has been with Event Farm, specializing in event engagement solutions. In June, the company aligned with Clear to assist event organizers with pandemic-compliant health screenings, combining the Clear Health Pass technology with Event Farm’s registration and check-in application.
Attendees securely access and verify their COVID-19-related health information using Clear Health Pass prior to an event. Event organizers then use Event Farm's check-in app to scan a QR code generated by Clear Health Pass and verify that the attendee's information matches the registration information and event safety protocols.
The partnership complements Event Farm's Safety Toolkit, a suite of purposely built applications to keep event staff and attendees safe at in-person events, and will enable attendees to bypass health-screening questions to enter the event faster.
Fern Health Check/ShareMy.Health
Event strategy and production company Fern and cloud healthcare platform ShareMy.Health teamed up to launch Fern Health Check for live events, including trade shows, corporate events and other in-person gatherings.
“One of the industry’s first steps in getting attendees back to in-person events is helping them feel comfortable with and confident in the safety protocols that organizers are putting in place,” said Jim Kelley, vice president of marketing and industry relations for Fern. “The enhancements to the health passport component of Fern HealthCheck make the testing and vaccine credential experience simple and transparent in a way that we expect will help ease the mindset of attendees and exhibitors as they return to trade shows and events.”
Key benefits of Fern HealthCheck include:
- Digital Health Passport, which allows individuals to control who sees their health status and for how long
- Vaccine credentials sharing and digital management
- COVID-19 testing with verification and certification
- The ability for event organizers to manage the health and safety of event staff, attendees and exhibitors with analytics and dashboard reporting
- Interoperability with industry and government registration and mobile app solutions in a HIPAA-compliant manner
HealthCheck’s latest functionality includes vaccine management with electronic consent capture to securely share immunization credentials. The platform captures details such as date of vaccination, manufacturer, lot number, location and vaccine administrator. Event organizers can also test any attendees. The tests—saliva-based, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests—are shipped directly to homes or offices, overnighted to ShareMy.Health’s CLIA-certified labs for priority processing and instantly paired with on-site, rapid antigen testing.
LINK
Los Angeles-based medical diagnostic testing service, Total Testing Solutions (TTS) has debuted LINK, a new technology that tracks COVID-19 test results and vaccination records.
The HIPAA-compliant software solution is specifically designed for businesses, hospitality groups and venues, helping them streamline the screening process before entry, perform on-site testing and/or confirm patrons have valid negative tests or vaccine cards. LINK allows for simple integration to deliver every user a customized experience, and it works in venues of all sizes.
TTS has already partnered with major sports teams, corporations and venues, which are using LINK for COVID-19 testing and vaccination verification of guests. They have also partnered with major hospitality groups to provide guests with access to self-collection COVID-19 test kits, safe and private medically guided white glove services and rapid testing for flu, antigens, antibodies and more. Documentation and test results obtained through LINK at these locations can provide travel clearance for both national and international travel requiring COVID-19 rt-PCR testing and is accepted by most airlines and destinations.
“We are proud to be helping the event and travel industries open back up safely and efficiently through our introduction of LINK,” said TTS CEO Lauren Trenkle. “With LINK, we have proven that the power of innovative technology can be leveraged to overcome challenges that seem insurmountable.”
LINK will soon be introducing ID Checks in which individuals who upload their vaccine card system will be prompted to upload a copy of their government issued ID and a selfie for easy visual verification during screening at a venue. This feature is especially critical in high population areas such as Los Angeles County, where new mandates will require cross-referencing vaccine cards with government issued identification.
Vital Circle
Founded by a group of healthcare specialists and consultants, Vital Circle is a platform that provides vaccine verification as well as proximity contact tracing that is customized for each event.
The platform combines web-based symptom tracking with wearable proximity contact tracing devices and a variety of health protocol options to provide a seamless solution for organizations and communities focused on comprehensive risk mitigation.
For proof of vaccine, data submitted by attendees is reviewed and verified by the Vital Circle clinical team, and attendees are provided with a confirmation for event entry.
The contact tracing aspect of the platform gives event organizers and companies access to multiple layers of data with actionable insights to mitigate risk and reduce the impact of COVID-19 exposure. It enables participants to track, monitor and report symptoms daily and gives them links to resources, prevention tips, testing centers and preferred health providers.
“Our main objective is to play our part in providing group travelers a safe way to place in-person meetings and events back onto their calendars,” said Amanda Schleede, CEO of Vital Circle.
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Partner Voices
Less than six months ago, Lisa Messina joined the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) as the first-ever chief sales officer after leading the sales team at Caesars Entertainment. A 12-year Las Vegas resident, Messina is a graduate of Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and serves on MPI International’s board of directors.
TSNN had a chance to catch up with this dynamic leader and talk to her about her vision for the new role, current shifts in the trade show industry, creating more diversity and equity within the organization, and advice to future female leaders.
Lisa Messina, Chief Sales Officer, LVCVA
With Las Vegas becoming The Greatest Arena on EarthTM, what are some of the things you’re most excited about in your role?
Our team was at The Big Game’s handoff ceremony earlier this month, and I couldn’t help but think, “We’re going to crush it next year!”
These high-profile events and venues not only drive excitement, but also provide unmatched opportunities for event planners. Allegiant Stadium hosts events from 10 to 65,000 people and offers on-field experiences. Formula 1 Grand Prix will take place in Las Vegas in November, after the year-one F1 race, the four-story paddock building will be available for buyouts and will also offer daily ride-along experiences that will be available for groups. And, of course, the MSG Sphere officially announced that it will open in September, ahead of schedule, with a U2 residency. It’s going to be the most technologically advanced venue as far as lighting, sound, feel, and even scent, and it will be available for buyouts and next-level sponsorships inside and outside. There’s no ceiling to what you can do when you’re doing events in Las Vegas.
Allegiant Stadium
As the trade show and convention business returns to the pre-pandemic levels, what shifts are you noticing and how do you think they will impact the industry going forward?
Our trade show organizers are very focused on driving customer experience. Most of our organizers are reporting stronger exhibitor numbers and increased numbers of new exhibitors, with trade shows proving to be almost or above 2019 levels. Now our organizers are really doubling down on driving attendance and focusing on the data to provide that individualized, customized experience to help attendees meet their goals and get the best value. Some companies continue to be cautiously optimistic with their organizational spend when it comes to sending attendees, but I think it will continue to improve. As the U.S. Travel Association makes more progress on the U.S. visa situation, we also expect a growing influx of international attendees.
What are some innovative ways the LVCVA helps trade show and convention organizers deliver the most value for their events?
We focus on customer experience in the same way that trade show organizers are thinking about it. We got rave reviews with the West Hall Expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), so over the next two years, we will be renovating the North and the Central halls, which will include not just the same look and feel, but also the digital experiences that can be leveraged for branding and sponsorship opportunities.
Vegas Loop, the underground transportation system designed by The Boring Company, is also a way we have enhanced the customer experience. Vegas Loop at the LVCC has transported more than 900,000 convention attendees across the campus since its 2021 launch. Last summer, Resorts World and The Boring Company opened the first resort stop at the Resorts World Las Vegas , with plans to expand throughout the resort corridor, including downtown Las Vegas, Allegiant Stadium and Harry Reid International Airport. The LVCVA also purchased the Las Vegas Monorail in 2020, the 3.9-mile-long elevated transportation system that connects eight resorts directly to the convention center campus. This is the only rail system in the world that integrates fares directly into show badges and registration. For trade show organizers, these transportation options mean saving time, money and effort when it comes to moving groups from the hotels to LVCC and around the city.
Also, the more we can focus on building the infrastructure around the convention center, the more it supports the customer experience and ultimately supports our trade show organizers. Scheduled to debut in Q4, Fontainebleau Las Vegas will offer 3,700 hotel rooms and 550,000 square feet of meeting and convention space next to LVCC.
What are some of the plans for advancing DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) within your organization?
We’re currently partnering with instead of working with a leading consulting firm, to lay the foundation and create a solid DEI plan and be the leader when it comes to DEI initiatives. The heart of that journey with the consulting firm is also talking to our customers about their strategic approaches to DEI and driving innovation in this space.
What are your favorite ways to recharge?
My husband and I have an RV and we’re outdoorsy people. So, while we have over 150,000 world-class hotel rooms and renowned restaurants right outside our doorstep, one of my favorite things to do is get out to Red Rock Canyon, the Valley of Fire, and Lake Mead. Five of the top national parks are within a three-hour drive from Las Vegas, so there’s a lot you can do. We love balancing the energy of Las Vegas with nature, and we’re noticing that a lot of attendees add activities off the Strip when they come here.
Valley of Fire
What advice would you give to women following leadership paths in destination marketing?
I think it’s about being laser-focused on what you want to accomplish; building a team around you that lifts you and helps you achieve your goals; and being humble and realizing that you do it as a group. No one gets this done alone. Thankfully, there are a lot of women in leadership in this organization, in our customers’ organizations, and in this city that we can be really proud of. We’re a formidable force that is making things happen.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
This article is exclusively sponsored by the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority. For more information, visit HERE.
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