Treasure Coast Community Health (TCCH) held their first COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Indian River County Fairgrounds on January 3, 2021. After 500 county residents received their first shot, it was necessary to recruit help.
TCCH serves 25,000 individual patients at eight clinical locations, so moving employees from patient care to administering shots was not an option. TCCH CEO Vicki Soulé asked Judi Miller, TCCH Board Member and former CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters, for help. The initial group of nine volunteers quickly expanded to 75 with more on a wait list.
COVID-19 vaccinations are provided free of charge to health centers by the state and federal government. TCCH waives the allowed administration fee so that everyone has the opportunity to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and to maintain their mission of healthcare for all.
TCCH volunteers have contributed 4,006 hours, valued at $27.20 per hour, for an economic impact of $108,963.20. “I can’t thank our volunteers enough. While we can calculate what they are worth monetarily, their commitment to our patients is immeasurable,” Soulé said.
Volunteers work with the call center and at vaccination events. The call center schedules appointments and returns messages. Some days volunteers fielded over 1,700 calls per day. Event volunteers handle paper work, check I.D.s, control traffic and help in the observation area. Each week Miller filled up to 30 call center shifts and 30 or more vaccination event shifts.
“All of our volunteers felt the critical need for this vaccination to get out and they saw a role in helping with that process. One hundred percent say they get more out of volunteering than they ever give,” Miller said.
Cathy Stevenson shared her talents in streamlining and automating the volunteer sign-up schedule, in addition to working in the call center and at events. “It’s been very rewarding and I will miss it when I return north,” Stevenson said.
TCCH volunteer John Grossweiler, feels he is helping fight a war against the pandemic and adding purpose to life. His roles include traffic control and the observation area. “Everybody is just so intensely dedicated to the project,” he said. Grossweiler describes his experience as refreshing and enjoys see people coming together to help others.
Hope Woodhouse brought her mom to be vaccinated and asked about volunteering. She too saw the pandemic as a war. Because she would be working closely with patients, Hope, as with all volunteers, received the COVID-19 vaccine, “I didn’t expect to get the vaccine. I felt I had to pay it back.”
“Our volunteers didn’t know much about TCCH to begin with which is interesting. It has introduced our community health center to the community in a very personal, engaged way, which you just can’t beat,” Miller said. TCCH staff and volunteers were able to know Indian River County in a new way. They humbly accepted patients’ gratitude. They saw rich and poor. They helped fellow human beings from all walks of life, each desiring hope for the future.
