WTVAHCS fulfills 4th mission during COVID-19 vaccination clinic
West Texas VA Health Care
System assisted community leaders, Texas National Guard and residents in Big Spring,
Texas during a COVID-19 vaccination clinic. The support came as a commitment to the VA's fourth mission, which aims to support national, state, and local emergency management, public health, safety, and homeland security efforts.
The clinic distributed free vaccines to citizens within Howard County, a rural area of West Texas. In support of this effort, WTVAHCS mobilized its mobile incident command unit, to provide the Texas National
Guard an ideal platform from which they could manage their vaccination clinic.
“We had the resources and the authorization to help, so there wasn't any hesitation on our part to lend a hand,” said Jason Cave, Director of WTVAHCS.
Big Spring hosted the drive-thru clinic through a program operated by the
Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM). With the help of TDEM, Big Spring was able to utilize National Guard support in distributing the vaccine.
“This event is very important for the city,” said Craig Ferguson, Big Spring Fire Chief. “We were able to get help from the VA in facilitating a space to distribute the vaccine. The National Guard was able to come in and provide experience and logistical support, which was essential.”
To host the drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination clinic, Big Spring leadership had requested support from WTVAHCS. The city hosted the drive-thru clinic in the parking lot of Scenic Mountain Medical Center but needed the mobile incident command unit to round