Currently Reading:
PLU nursing students help vaccinate nearly 1200 people at on-campus event
PLU nursing students help vaccinate nearly 1200 people at on-campus event
Image: PLU’s Olson Gym (pictured) and Field House were used for a vaccination event on Thursday that administered around 1200 first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. (Photos by John Froschauer/PLU)
By Zach Powers
PLU Marketing and Communications
On Thursday, February 11, around 1,200 people received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination at a one-day event in Pacific Lutheran University’s Olson Gym and Field House. Co-hosted by the Tacoma–Pierce County Health Department, PLU, MultiCare Health System, and Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, the event was the result of targeted outreach to community members who face access and equity barriers to healthcare. In addition to utilizing PLU’s two largest indoor athletics facilities, 22 PLU nursing students helped administer the vaccine.
“Throughout the pandemic, we have been extraordinarily grateful for the leadership, counsel, and close communication that the Tacoma–Pierce County Health Department has provided to PLU,” said PLU President Allan Belton. “We jumped at the opportunity to partner with the Health Department, MultiCare, and CHI Franciscan to support their efforts to equitably and urgently administer the vaccine to the community.”
“Today’s event is an example of a public-private partnership that delivers a collective impact,” Belton added. “PLU is sharing resources with mutually benefiting activities centered around our community.”
Organizers worked with member organizations of the Tacoma–Pierce County Health Equity Action Network to register the South Sound community members who received a vaccination dose at this event.
Among the organizers of the event was PLU alumnus and longtime adjunct business professor Bradd Busick ‘99, MBA ‘09, who serves as vice president and chief technology officer for MultiCare. “It’s really awesome and special for me as an alum to not only watch PLU open its doors, but go above and beyond with facilities, support staff, and really anything that was needed,” said Busick. “(PLU staff, faculty, and students) were here at the crack of dawn and will be here when this wraps up, all in support of community members who desperately want this vaccine.”
PLU co-hosts vaccination event with the county health department and local healthcare providers.
