For Immediate Release
Contact: Daniel Wackershauser, Marketing and PR Specialist
Phone: 608.822.2303
Mail: 1800 Bronson Blvd., Fennimore, WI 53809
Date of Release: April 9, 2021
Nursing program filling critical role at vaccine clinics
Fennimore -
Kari Bird (center) and Rylee Romano (right), nursing students, assisted at the vaccination clinic for faculty and staff on campus on March 26.
The nursing staff and students at Southwest Wisconsin Technical College are filling a critical role in COVID-19 vaccinations locally and throughout the state. Southwest Tech has been a strong partner with the Grant County Health Department, Grant Regional Health Center in Lancaster and Southwest Health in Platteville for many years. When the COVID-19 vaccine was made available, the college’s nursing staff and students were prepared to assist. “They have played a very significant role in assisting in vaccinating our population,” said Jeff Kindrai, director of the Grant County Health Department.
Brooklyn Granger administers a COVID-19 vaccine dose to Misty Thill, both nursing students at Southwest Tech.
According to Maria Kindrai, Southwest Tech nursing instructor, nursing students complete clinical hours with all three of those partners frequently throughout the year and have traditionally assisted with influenza vaccines in local hospitals, as well as nursing homes. “Because of this ongoing collaboration, the process to assisting with COVID-19 vaccines was a smooth one,” she said.
The nursing students are immersed in all aspects of the vaccine clinics. They assist with checking people in, administering the vaccines, cleaning and disinfecting, and post-vaccine monitoring.
“Many of our students have been affected by COVID in some way, shape, or form, even losing close family, friends, and loved ones to COVID-19,” said Jenna Taylor, Southwest Tech nursing instructor. “To be able to help play a role in assisting in vaccinating our community helped them to feel that they were helping to fight this pandemic on a whole new level. Many students commented on all the emotions that had overcome them during their time helping; hope, joy, pride, and gratitude.”
Maria Kindrai (left) and Darci Colsch, nursing instructors at Southwest Tech, assist during the COVID-19 vaccine clinic on campus for faculty and staff on March 26.
Kindrai noted that while the clinics are held in Grant County, they are open to anyone who lives, works or studies in Wisconsin, so they help support the entire region. “I have several students who have also volunteered in the counties where they live,” she said.
“As a nursing instructor, I felt a great sense of pride in all the students, who wholeheartedly stepped up to help,” said Taylor. “I was happy to be by their sides, serving the community with them. They gained so much experience beyond the physical skill of giving an injection. They were able to gain experience communicating and working with patients, observing all the work that goes into making a mass vaccination clinic run smoothly, witnessing the role and impact of nursing in public health, and simply being a part of history.”
To assist in the training for this specific work, Kindrai explained the students often attended the clinics with their entire clinical group and spent the day alongside their assigned clinical instructor, as well as public health staff, Grant County Emergency Management and Lancaster EMS, who have assisted in post-vaccination monitoring.
Jenna Taylor, nursing instructor at Southwest Tech, assists during the COVID-19 vaccine clinic on campus for faculty and staff on March 26.
“To know that you are helping to make a difference is what being a nurse is all about,” said Kindrai. “As an instructor, I am so proud of each and every one of the students who are entering a profession that is frontline at fighting a global pandemic. These students have always worked so hard and are so passionate about the field they are going into and this year has certainly been a testament to their dedication and resiliency.”
“Southwest Tech nursing faculty and students have helped provide capacity to make Grant County a leader in the state in vaccinating our most vulnerable citizens,” concluded Jeff Kindrai. “It is a great collaboration.”
• To learn more about the Southwest Tech nursing programs go to www.swtc.edu/nursing.
Rylee Romano, nursing student at Southwest Tech, monitors faculty and staff during the COVID-19 vaccine clinic on campus on April 9.
| Southwest Wisconsin Technical College is one of 16 institutions that comprise the Wisconsin Technical College System. Southwest Tech offers more than 60 programs in a wide variety of disciplines. Courses are offered on campus, online and in a blended format. The college provides apprenticeship, certificate, technical diploma, and associate degree programs that respond to district workforce needs and prepare student for family-sustaining jobs and career advancement. |