Many community events need a first aid station or a cooling station. Our medical volunteers augment the EMS/EMT first responders at these events. We help our neighbors in need by offering them a chair to rest, a bandage to cover a wound, a cool drink to rehydrate, or an ice pack to lower their body temperature. We are there to help you be safe.
There is a growing concern among families with young children about vaccine safety. Our volunteers are building vaccine confidence in underserved communities. We are hosting library storytime and medical play sessions at local libraries to demystify what it’s like to get a shot. We are listening to parents’ concerns and sharing the latest evidence-based facts about the safety and efficacy of vaccines for children.
Many children are terrified about getting a vaccination. The SCPA MRC have purchased some wonderful children’s books that will help reduce your child’s fear. We are reading these books at library story-time and after-school pop-up events. We are also distributing the books to “Little Free Libraries” across South Central PA.
In partnership with the Pennsylvania Immunization Coalition and the Pennsylvania American Academy of Pediatrics, our mobile vaccination clinics serve vulnerable communities (senior citizens and those with food and housing insecurity) and college students. We are striving to increase the vaccination rates and health of our community by offering the bivalent COVID booster shots and other types of vaccines.
During the pandemic, misinformation and misunderstanding about the safety and efficacy of COVID vaccines, specifically, and other vaccines, in general, grew tremendously. In partnership with the Pennsylvania Immunization Coalition and the Pennsylvania American Academy of Pediatrics, we are listening compassionately to people’s fears and concerns. We are providing vaccine education and encouraging our community to receive age-appropriate vaccinations.
In partnership with the Penn State College of Medicine’s Long-Term Care RISE team, we are providing free N-95 respiratory (mask) fit testing services for the staff working at long-term care facilities and personal care homes. We are also training staff members how to do fit testing and how to document their respiratory program so they can meet the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) requirements.
When there is an environmental disaster such as a toxic gas release, a toxic spill into the water, and influx of disease-causing vectors, our environmental health volunteers augment the EMS/EMT/HAZMAT first responders. We help conduct shelter assessments, test drinking water supplies, perform food safety inspections, and control disease-causing vectors.