UIW nursing students to aid in South Side vaccine drive
A quest to get nursing students out of the classroom and into communities in need has led to a partnership that could deliver hundreds of COVID-19 vaccinations to South Side residents.
University of the Incarnate Word's nursing and osteopathic medicine schools, in partnership with Southside Independent School District, the city of San Antonio and La Misión Family Health Care, are putting together a one-day vaccination event that they hope will lead to a series of events over the summer.
The school district is opening up two gyms at Southside High school to use as a vaccination site for the one-day event, scheduled for April 10, a Saturday.
The goal is to vaccinate 500 qualifying area residents free of charge, while also providing them information about other health opportunities. About 50 UIW students, along with staff from UIW and partnering organizations, will be handling the inoculations.
“This is going to be a massive undertaking,” Southside spokesperson Randy Escamilla said. “We know that the level of COVID in ZIP code 78221, where we are located, is among the highest in Bexar County.”
The next steps are securing the vaccine allotment and getting people to sign up, said Linda Hook, UIW associate professor of nursing.
Hook was given the green light to apply for the first 500 doses, but because these must be administered within a week of receiving them, she can't apply too far in advance.
“I can't order weeks ahead,” Hook explained. “We have to order a week before and hope it gets here for the event. If it doesn't, we'll have to give them a voucher and give them the updated date.”
As a proactive measure, and to make sure they have enough interest solely from area residents, the plan is to sign people up during a March 16 food distribution event at the school district being held in partnership with the San Antonio Food Bank.
Nursing students will be tasked with walking along the lines of cars at the event and signing up those who are interested. Then they'll follow up by calling to confirm appointments in the following weeks.
“It's really hard to make sure that you are targeting the people who are in need,” Hook said. “I think going to that food line is our first start to find them … I hope they sign up.”
Escamilla and Hook are optimistic about being able to reach the 500 mark at the March 16 event, noting that many of those who attend the food distributions at the district tend to be older people or people with preexisting conditions that may qualify them to be get the vaccine now.
“If this works, then it becomes a model of what we can do to get people vaccinated there,” Hook added.
Hook added that the plan is go beyond inoculating people by providing information on a variety of health needs and opportunities for the area residents.
“We are trying to make it as the COVID vaccine as the first step,” Hook said. “But also about how important other community agencies are for community health.”
The goal is to use the April event as a launching pad to begin weekly vaccination and health events between June and August.
“This is all a trial run; and if it goes smoothly, we plan on vaccinating at least 1,000 people every week during the summer,” Escamilla said.
“This community looks to the school district for many resources,” Escamilla said. “We are all they have, in many ways. So, I think we have a responsibility to do what we can to help them.”