KOAM TV 7 Joplin and Pittsburg$64,000 for school vaccine program in Wilson County

$64,000 for school vaccine program in Wilson County

Media release issued by Wilson County Emergency Management

Wilson County Health Department has been awarded $64,000.00 to implement a school located vaccine program targeting students enrolled in elementary, middle, and high school. The grant period starts with the 2011-12 school year, and runs for two years.

Kansas Department of Health and Environment Immunization Program won the highest level of funding among only four states to compete successfully for the grant awarded by the Centers for Disease Control. (CDC). Health Department Administrator Todd Durham, wrote the proposal for Wilson County which was chosen, along with 11 other counties in the state, to participate in the project. The other state grantees are Arkansas, Maine, and South Carolina.

There are many barriers that prevent children getting vaccines.  Parents often can't afford to take time off from work to take their children to a health care provider.  Transportation can be a problem in rural areas.  Parents without health insurance find it difficult to pay for shots.  Even families with insurance coverage may have a hard time finding a healthcare provider who accepts their particular policy. 

The program's main purpose is to build a sustainable system with fewer barriers to getting children immunized.  A large part of the grant money will be used to purchase a start-up stock of vaccine. The vaccine expense will be reimbursed as vaccines are given, making it possible to continue the program.

Although the Health Department is able to bill some insurance companies for services, there are others that they can't bill directly.  This means that some parents must pay up front for shots and wait to be reimbursed. Grant funds will be used to expand Health Department billing capability, making it less of a financial burden for families to have their children immunized.

"Taking an immunization clinic to "where children are" is the most efficient use of Health Department staff", explains Durham, "and it's a definite time and money saver for parents. The Health Department has been working towards school located clinics even before this grant. Our first experience was giving shots at schools during the H1N1 pandemic in 2009.  We found that parents really appreciated the convenience. But the logistics of transporting vaccine and being able to bill for the services has always limited what we can do."

The Health Department will now be able to purchase equipment to make traveling clinics feasible. Vaccines must be stored and transported at highly controlled temperatures.  The Health Department will purchase portable cold storage units for vaccine with grant funds.  Transportable record keeping equipment such as computers, software, scanners, and printers are also needed to support the traveling clinics.

Another objective of the grant is to increase the number of children protected by flu vaccine.

Although seniors and people with compromised health have become accustomed to seeking annual flu shots, research has shown that young children also have  a significant increased risk of developing life threatening complications from the flu.  Despite this, many children do not get flu shots.

"We are working hard to increase the number of kids getting flu shots. However, our plan in Wilson County is to expand this program beyond making only flu shots more available" continued Durham.  "There are a number of immunizations required for school. Parents gave us a very positive response to our clinic held at Neodesha USD 461 enrollment this past August. We want to be able to offer the same opportunity to other county school districts. Every school year some parents find themselves scrambling after school starts to get their children immunized or face having them sent home until the shots are given. We hope that by making the process more convenient, children will be protected more fully and the process will be easier and more economical for parents."  

"With school-located clinics, parents must still sign consent forms before their children receive shots, and they will be provided the same vaccine education information as always," concluded Durham.