WellSpan leaders with medical training are stepping up to immunize team members with the COVID-19 vaccine.
WellSpan Health President and CEO Roxanna Gapstur, Ph.D., R.N., spent several hours at WellSpan Gettysburg Hospital Wednesday, immunizing frontline team caregivers. The first round of WellSpan caregivers to receive the vaccine work in intensive care units, emergency departments and other areas that most commonly care for COVID-19 patients.
“From the start of this pandemic, our 20,000 team members have rallied around each other and our patients. As our team members now rise to the latest challenge, it’s time for every one of us to do what we can to help where we can,” Gapstur said. “We’re in this together, and at WellSpan, that means all of us. There are no words to express the admiration and appreciation I feel for the dedication from our teams.”
Team members were happy – and surprised – to receive their immunization from WellSpan’s top leader.
“It shows that everyone is part of the community, from the bottom to the top,” said Jodi Long, registered nurse. “It feels great to get the vaccine, it feels like I’m doing my part for the community.”
Other WellSpan leaders who will be giving the COVID-19 vaccine include Michael Seim, M.D., senior vice president and chief quality officer; Sherri Stahl, R.N., senior vice president in the West Region; Tina Citro, R.N., president of WellSpan Ephrata Community Hospital; Patty Donley, R.N., vice president and chief nursing officer of WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital; and Kelly Smith, R.N., senior director of nursing at WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital. Many other WellSpan leaders are supporting the vaccine clinics in a variety of administrative capacities.
The leaders volunteered their services as WellSpan Health recruited all eligible and available staff to work at immunization clinics set up for team members. The reason for the “all hands-on deck” call is that many WellSpan caregivers who could help with the vaccination efforts already are working long hours caring for ill COVID-19 patients, as the number of cases has risen during the late fall and early winter months.
Just days after receiving its first shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine, WellSpan Health began offering it to front line caregivers at all of its hospitals in alignment with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance and the PA Department of Health’s phased approach to vaccination.
WellSpan Health is not requiring employees to be vaccinated, but strongly encouraging them to make an informed choice about the option. WellSpan Health endorses the vaccine as our infectious disease experts have reviewed the available research data and find the vaccine to be safe and effective.
