Staff Band Together for COVID Vaccine Clinics
Liliana Wooten, RN, a bilingual nurse practitioner at Cincinnati Children’s, volunteered to help organize and promote COVID-19 vaccine clinics that welcome Spanish-speaking residents of our community, and it’s obvious that kids and adults appreciate the effort.
“I see a lot of smiles when they notice we’re speaking the same language—kind of like an expression of relief that they will be understood and trust that if they have questions, we will be able to provide answers,” Wooten said.
A native of Venezuela and president of the local chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses, Wooten said about a dozen bilingual staffers at Cincinnati Children’s have volunteered to work vaccine clinics such as the one held Feb. 17 at Rees E. Price Academy in East Price Hill. About 20 percent of the over 500 pupils at the elementary school are Hispanic, and the surrounding neighborhood includes many Spanish-speaking residents.
Other clinics, including those at Liberty Campus, have included outreach to the Hispanic community via news media interviews that Wooten has done on the Spanish-language radio station La Mega and with other outlets such as WXIX-TV (Ch. 19).
“Overall, I feel humbled that I can be part of a hospital that has pioneered the community effort geared to our local Hispanic population,” said Wooten, who has worked at Cincinnati Children’s for 16 years. “Coming from immigrant parents and having migrated to the U.S. myself at an early age, I understand how patients can feel more comfortable with the healthcare system if they have people who look and talk like them providing the care.
“The smiles and slight expressions of relief I have gotten when the patients being vaccinated hear me speaking Spanish to them for the first time make this effort worth it,” Wooten continued. “From a very young age, I was involved in the health system as I interpreted for my mother through her medical issues. Although we don’t require children to do that at Cincinnati Children’s, I can identify with the children who speak English while their parents do not.”
Other volunteers include some who speak Spanish but aren’t Hispanic. “They’ve joined us in making these clinics more welcoming and comfortable for Hispanics,” Wooten said.
Liliana Wooten, RN, with two clinic patients.
Dozens of people work each clinic, which can include evening and weekend hours. But dozens of others help with preparations in the days preceding each clinic.
Susan Wade-Murphy, RN, the assistant vice president for Patient Services who oversees Cincinnati Children’s COVID vaccine clinics, said the successful outreach to vaccinate tens of thousands of local residents amid the pandemic can be attributed to the teamwork of numerous departments at the medical center.
Clinics have been held at several Cincinnati Children’s campuses, as well as off-site location such as the Cincinnati Museum Center in Queensgate, Findlay Market in Over-the-Rhine, and Rockdale Academy in Avondale. Additional clinics are planned at other Cincinnati Public Schools locations.
“One of the most exciting things about taking vaccine clinics to neighborhoods is how so many Cincinnati Children’s departments come together to make it happen,” Wade-Murphy said.
Community Relations is our feet on the ground, making connections with key community leaders and partners to help us find the right location and time for our event. Marketing and Communications is our voice in print, digital, and media, sharing event details and highlighting why COVID vaccines matter. Patient Services provides clinical support. Pharmacy, nursing, and Child Life are essential to any successful clinic.
“When outreach is focused on a community where languages other than English are predominant, we add our Language Access Services team—interpreters to work at the event and translators to prepare signs, fliers, and other documents,” Wade-Murphy noted. “We also look for providers across Cincinnati Children’s who speak the language—including physicians, residents, medical students, and advanced practice nurses—to administer vaccines.”
Language Access Services registers individuals and ensures appointments are made for follow-up vaccines. Information Services scouts locations in advance, checking on Wi-Fi and ensuring those who work the clinics have connectivity and power sources.
Another key group is the Transportation and Grounds team. They load and transport supplies and equipment needed, making it possible to set up a clinic almost anywhere.
“These colleagues are the ones I am especially grateful for at the end of a busy outreach clinic,” Wade-Murphy said. “They get us ‘back to Burnet’ with a smile every time!”
Leaders and clinical staff celebrated the one-year anniversary of the first-ever onsite COVID-19 vaccine clinic at Burnet on Feb. 2, 2022.
Others who have played key roles include: Patti Stepp, clinical director for Access Services; Michelle Rudisell, RN III; Laurel Ashworth, research RN (vaccine preparer); John Hingl, pharmacy operations director; and Amanda Combs, project manager for Patient Services Administration.
Combs has been a part of the vaccine clinics since the first one on Jan. 27, 2021.
“The clinics have truly been a highlight in my career here at Cincinnati Children’s,” Combs said. “It has been beautiful to see individuals from departments and units across the organization come together to support this extremely important effort. During each clinic, there is a palpable excitement and energy in the room. We continue to expand our efforts through collaboration with community partners, ensuring that we make the vaccine available to all kids in our region.”
Monica Mitchell, PhD, a pediatric psychologist and senior director of Community Relations, echoed that.
“The success of each community COVID clinic is a result of collaboration,” she said. “The Cincinnati Children’s team works with Cincinnati Public Schools and other partners to meet children and families where they are. Our goal is that every child and every person who receives a vaccination has a positive experience.”
Bobby Rodriguez, vice president of Diversity, Inclusion and Community Relations, said communicating to underserved communities is part of the medical center’s long-term Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategic plan.
“We’re bringing resources that historically we haven’t used to reach critical audiences,” Rodriguez said. “It’s not just fliers and posters. We are leveraging our Spanish-speaking doctors and nurses to help carry these important messages. Again, it’s about engaging and building trust with families. We’ve seen evidence that when we show up with messages in diverse media outlets, the listeners turn out to our COVID vaccination clinics. It means we’re reaching families, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Andy Schwieter, director of Language Access Services, said his department helped by translating forms, fliers, certificates, radio ads, and vaccine information. And for compliance, his team ensured that all interpreters, translators, and bilingual staff who supported clinics were qualified.
“Partners across the medical center provided valuable feedback on draft translations,” Schwieter said. “For example, we added ‘identification not required’ and replaced ‘legal guardian’ with ‘person authorized to consent’ to reassure Spanish-speakers that our clinics had no connection with immigration status.”
In addition, medical interpreters supported the Liberty clinics since not all Cincinnati Children’s employees there were qualified bilingual staff. They mostly facilitated communication between families and staff at registration. For the Price Hill clinics, additional employees from Language Access Services volunteered to be trained to register families. Having more qualified bilingual staff at registration makes the line move even faster so more Spanish speakers can get their shot in less time.
Wooten, the nurse practitioner who has played such an important role in the outreach to the Hispanic community, said she has been “super impressed” by how everyone involved has contributed to the success of the COVID vaccine clinics.
“But I know these are the type of people who work at Cincinnati Children’s—they want to impact the health of children and their families,” Wooten said. “The best part is—it worked! By coming together, all our effort has paid off.”
Bridging the Language Barrier
Bilingual providers who have helped vaccinate local residents at clinics include:
- Registered nurses Claudia Velez, Rene “Alex” Flores, Muriel Garcia and Carole Castillo
- Medical assistant Angeiry Ferreiras Diplan
- Medical doctors Ana Catalina Arce-Clachar and Sonia Rodas Marquez
- Pharmacist Christine Ciriaco
Other qualified bilingual staff who have helped at clinics include:
- Speech pathologists Kelly DiLullo and Joel Fairchild
- Child Life specialist Tania Imendia
- Health unit coordinator Chiqui Aull and clinical research coordinator Ormarie Vazquez Silva