MUSCLE SHOALS, ALA. – Northwest-Shoals Community College (NW-SCC) and Helen Keller Hospital are partnering to provide vaccines to area residents. A vaccine clinic for ages 75 and over was operated Monday (1/18) on the NW-SCC Shoals campus.
“We are excited to partner with Helen Keller Hospital to aid in the process of vaccinating our community,” said NW-SCC President Dr. Glenda Colagross. “Our hospitals and healthcare workers do so much to help keep us safe. We are so glad that we can play a small part in facilitating the vaccine distribution.”
Helen Keller Hospital is very appreciative of NW-SCC nursing students and instructors who helped to administer the COVID-19 vaccine.
“We have a wonderful partnership with Northwest-Shoals Community College and are thankful for their support with our vaccine clinic. Our mission is to care for the Shoals, and this is just another way we can be proactive in stemming this virus,” Buchanan said. “Providing this vaccination to our most vulnerable population allows us to know that they are as safe as possible as we work through this pandemic.”
NW-SCC nursing students were vaccinated last Thursday at Helen Keller Hospital’s Well Care Center, and some of them assisted the Helen Keller Hospital staff in vaccinating approximately 250 citizens on Monday. When NW-SCC nursing faculty and students found out they would be able to help with the clinic, they eagerly accepted the opportunity.
According to NW-SCC Director of Nursing, Brittney Humphres, it is a privilege for NW-SCC students to be able to give back to their community. “Situations like these are why you choose to become a nurse,” stated Humphres. “We know our community is suffering from this pandemic, and assisting with this clinic allows our students to contribute toward making a positive difference for some folks who are in the high-risk category.”
Kirstin Wilson was one of the NW-SCC nursing students that assisted in today’s clinic. “Being able to help today means more to me than most,” said Wilson. “The COVID-19 pandemic has hit our community so hard, and it’s been such a long year for all of us. Being able to help today will be so rewarding, I hope that in giving this vaccine today it will help bring an end to this pandemic.”
As more vaccine clinics are scheduled in the coming weeks, Helen Keller Hospital will send out additional information.