Nearly 635 area residents received the influenza vaccine last month, thanks in part to students from UMass Medical School. During a four-hour period on Nov 18, students from the School of Medicine and Graduate School of Nursing joined forces with the Worcester Regional Medical Reserve Corps (WRMRC), the Worcester District Medical Society Physician and Nurse Alliance, the Worcester Department of Public Health, Worcester State College Nursing Program and undergraduate students from the College of the Holy Cross to vaccinate residents age 50 and older and those with chronic medical conditions as part of a public health service and to test the City of Worcester’s emergency dispensing site and preparedness plans
The WRMRC is a program of the Worcester Metropolitan Medical Response System (WMMRS), a federal, emergency preparedness organization supervised by the Worcester Public Health Division. Comprising medical and non-medical volunteers, the WRMRC is among the first responders to emergency situations. “This event has allowed the WRMRC volunteers to test their emergency preparedness skills by practicing a mass vaccination combined with meeting a public health need,” said Betsy Colman, SOM ’07.
Residents began lining up outside the Worcester Senior Center for the vaccine prior to the 8 a.m. start. The Senior Center proved to be an ideal location for the clinic, since it serves a primary population of those eligible to receive the vaccine. Although the vaccination was free, qualifying residents presented their insurance cards at registration and were examined during the screening process in which students asked standard health questions related to the flu vaccine. Once the patient passed the screening, he or she received the vaccination. To ensure patients did not have any adverse reaction to the vaccine, they were placed in a rest and refreshment area and observed for a short period of time.
Nurses from the Worcester Public Health Division, who have coordinated the flu vaccination clinics at the Senior Center in previous years, worked with UMMS students and the WRMRC to determine the organization of this year’s clinic. Ten stations were set up to provide inoculations to qualifying Worcester residents. Each station included two UMMS students, who dispensed the vaccines, and one nurse from the Worcester Public Health Division who supervised the station.
“We were able to test the WRMRC’s and the WMMRS’s emergency response plans, as well as vaccinate a large number of the eligible population against the influenza virus,” said Colman. “We learned a great deal, which will not only serve to improve emergency preparedness, but will also help us expand the event for next year.” The mass inoculation served as a community service learning project for Ann DeFosse, GSN ’08. DeFosse and other GSN students served as a resource for medical students administering flu vaccines. “We spent a lot of hours preparing for this event, and it has paid off,” said DeFosse. “The medical students did an excellent job at not only giving the vaccine, but making their patients feel at ease.” Colman was responsible for mobilizing the School of Medicine students, recruiting nearly 35, most of whom are in their first and second years. “This has been a great experience for everyone involved,” said Colman. “It was great to see the medical students and nursing students working together and being a part of serving the community so early on in their education.”
Colman and others are already planning for next year’s emergency preparedness project. “We hope to reach out to a larger population next year,” she said. “We would like to use additional sites that have been designated by the WMMRS as appropriate locations to dispense emergency medicine.” For more information or to join the WRMRC, visit http://www.worcesterregionalmrc.org.