06.26.08

Shots Across Texas Scheduled for August 23
 
The Montgomery County Health Department, Conroe ISD and other local partners have started planning for Shots Across Texas 2008, and now's a perfect time for volunteers to get involved.

“We’re expecting this year to be bigger and better than ever,” said Emily Llinás, Assistant Director at the UTMB Montgomery County Health Department in Conroe. 

Las year, Shots Across Texas volunteers gave 2105 free vaccinations to 694 children.

“It’s absolutely incredible, how many kids we can help in just one morning,” Llinás said.

Shots Across Texas has provided free back-to-school immunizations for Montgomery County kids for past fourteen years. Immunizations offered include all those required to enter Montgomery County schools this fall, as well as an optional shot for protection against meningitis.  Volunteers will also provide tuberculosis testing for incoming students who recently immigrated to the United States.

Shots Across Texas will be held at Peet Junior High School in Conroe from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, August 23.  Immunizations are available to all children, from infants to high school seniors, regardless of their place of residence.  The only document required is a shot record.

To receive information about the event or to volunteer, contact Veronica Torres at 935-525-2800 or vetorres@utmb.edu. Volunteers can also sign up at the Montgomery County Health Department's Volunteer Hub, http://mchd.volunteerhub.com.

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04.15.08

MCHD Offers Interactive, Web-based Training to Volunteers

The Montgomery County Health Department and departments throughout the Houston-Galveston are partnering with Fusion Media to provide interactive, web-based training for volunteers in the greater metropolitan area. The sessions will include video clips, classroom-style instruction, and games, all of which give volunteers an opportunity to increase their knowledge and response experience from the comfort of their homes or offices. Online training sessions will never completely replace “live” sessions, but they are a great complement to traditional training that will allow more people than ever before to learn about public health emergency response. Web-based training allows those who cannot attend on-site training sessions to learn from the comfort of their computers, and it allows our most motivated volunteers to proceed quickly through our curriculum without waiting for formal training classes to be scheduled and fill up with participants.

Web-based volunteer trainings are currently in the production phase and will be available for use this summer.  Register online at Montgomery County’s Volunteer Hub to receive updates about what sessions are available and when, and, most importantly, how you can be among the first to try them.

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10.24.07

240 Residents Vaccinated at Montgomery County's First Drive-Thru Flu Shot Event

Adults wanting flu vaccinations got them free on Saturday morning, and they didn’t even have to leave their cars.

The UTMB Montgomery County Health Department and Montgomery College collaborated to provide a drive-through flu shot clinic on campus from 9 to 11 a.m. Cars started lining up in campus parking lots more than an hour early.

Linda O’Brien Corbin, Montgomery College facilities director, arrived at 7:15 so she could be the first in line. She said events like Saturday’s are a great way to promote campus emergency preparedness.

“If we ever have to put our [emergency] plan into action, this is a good way to get ready for it,” O’Brien Corbin said. “Everything went so smoothly.”

Conroe resident Liz Stephan got a flu shot for the first time on Saturday. She was reluctant to go through the line at first but three days after vaccination, she had only good things to say about her experience.

“I was skeptical about getting a flu shot because I’ve head stories that they make you sick. I’m fine now though. I haven’t had any problems whatsoever,” she said.

Stephan said that being vaccinated at a drive-thru event is much more pleasant than going to a doctor’s office.

“You don’t have to wait in a waiting room and think about getting a shot. It’s more like having a good time and driving up to get a sandwich or something,” she said. “It was really exciting and neat.”

Emily Llinás, plan coordinator for the UTMB Montgomery County Health Department in Conroe, said drive-through vaccination concept is a new idea being examined by health professionals who want to combat infectious diseases that spread through the air.

“If we have to deal with an epidemic of tuberculosis or bird flu someday, we may need to protect people, but we don’t necessarily want them all standing together in a crowded room while they’re waiting for shots,” she said. “The drive-through model allows us to serve large numbers of people while maintaining social distancing.”

Pulling off the drive-through event required logistical planning between the UTMB and Montgomery College security and law enforcement officials.  The planning paid off on Saturday morning when traffic moved quickly through registration parking lots and three vaccination lanes.

Cars stacked up before the event and flowed smoothly vaccinations got underway. Traffic slowed toward the middle of the event, and then picked up toward the end when shoppers from neighboring Wal-Mart and Lowes joined the lines.

During the two hours of operations, event volunteers gave 240 vaccinations. Volunteers hope to expand the event next year, working longer hours and giving more shots. 

Llinás said flu shot events like Saturday’s serve as opportunities for health officials to promote overall disease prevention.

“Flu season is great practice for us,” Llinás said, “It’s a time when we can say, ‘Cover your cough, wash your hands, get your flu shot,’ and people just might listen. Nobody likes to get seasonal flu, so if we teach people ways to prevent it, we are also teaching them how to prevent more serious respiratory illnesses like SARS and TB.” 

In addition to vaccine information, event volunteers handed out pamphlets containing information about seasonal, avian and pandemic influenza.

Saturday’s workers included UTMB Montgomery County Health Department staff and volunteers, Montgomery College staff and nursing students and nurses from Solara Health Care and St. Luke’s Medical Center.

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9.17.07

MCHD's Volunteer Hub keeps everyone in touch

MCHD's new volunteer management system allows volunteers to sign up, register for activities and manage their information online.

During a short visit to Volunteer Hub, Public Health Volunteers can enter the contact information, upload  a photo and register for trainings and exercises. Individuals registered on the site will receive all the latest information about activities taking place throughout the county and those who register for a geographical area - North, South, East, West or Central County- will receive messages targeted to residents of their part of the county.

Volunteer Hub saves hours of work for both Public Health Volunteers and staff members at the UTMB Montgomery County Health Department. Volunteers can update contact information in just a few seconds, and Health Department Staff can send messages to large groups of volunteers instead of sending separate invitations.

While MCHD officials don't expect all Public Health Volunteers to use the system, they hope to get as many people registered as possible. Plan Coordinator and Volunteer Function Lead Emily Llinás says that Volunteer Hub will allow workers in her office to be more effective.

"Volunteer Hub will take care of the nitty gritty details like formatting spreadsheets and sending emails," Llinás said. "If we don't have to do all that, we'll have more time to focus on improving our volunteer trainings and developing exercises so they can practice what they've learned."

Volunteers can join Volunteer Hub at any time. The web address is http://mchd.volunteerhub.com. 

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8.25.07

2105 Free Vaccinations Given at Shots Across Texas

This year´s Shots Across Texas vaccination campaign was Montgomery County´s most successful ever, with 2105 vaccinations given to 694 children.

The doors opened early Saturday morning at Peet Junior High School in Conroe, and parents from throughout the county brought children to receive the immunizations required for school.

Getting shots is never fun for children, but volunteers strove to make the process as quick and as enjoyable as possible. In addition to compting paperwork and answering screening questions, parents and children visited with clowns from St. Paul´s United Methodist Clown Ministry and received balloons provided by the Card & Party Factory and Conroe Welding. After receiving vaccinations, Shots Across Texas participants visited booths sponsored by the UTMB Conroe Maternal-Child Health Clinic, the Montgomery County Hospital District and Community Health Choice. The Conroe Noon Kiwanis Club provided ice cream for everyone, and a Conroe ISD graduate provided free toothbrushes.

The day would not have been possible without vaccination and screening assistance from Conroe ISD nurses, Conroe Regional Medical Center, Memorial Hermann Hospital-The Woodlands, the Montgomery County Hospital District, Lone Star Family Practice and the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Care Van. Representatives from the Montgomery County Sherriff's Citizens Academy Alumni Association, the Conroe Hispanic Alliance, and Conroe ISD's Community Outreach Program and Academy for Science and Health Professions provided the support necessary to keep the event running smoothly.

Click to see photos of Shots Across Texas 2007.

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8.01.07

Montgomery County Bioterrorism Exercise a Success

Public Health Volunteers and community members joined together to promote public health emergency preparedness at the 2007 Montgomery County Bioterrorism Exercise in The Woodlands on July 31.

The UTMB Montgomery County Health Departmet and Conroe Independent School District hosted the event at the Woodlands Ninth Grade Campus on Branch Crossing Drive. The event, lasting from 10:00 a.m. to Noon, simulated mass dispensing of antibiotics to Public Health Volunteers, community members who distribute anitbiotics to members of the public following a bioterrorism attack or infectious disease outbreak.

The July 31 exercise provided great benefits to participants, to the Health Department and to the community at large. Participants got a first-hand look at how we respond to a bioterrorism attack or infectious disease outbreak. The Department tested and increased the relevance of public health preparedness and response plans. The community became better educated and more prepared to respond to attacks or diseases that threaten our wellbeing.

About 140 people participated in teh exercise, and all learned more about waht we can do to respond to a real-life public health emergency. Added bonuses included gifts and door prizes. All exercise participants received blue "to-go-kit" bags that advertised the UTMB Montgomery County Health Department web site. Lucky door prize winners also received golf passes, movie tickets and a spa package.

Also on July 31, the UTMB Montgomery County Health Department sponsored an Introductory Training for individuals interested in becoming Public Health Volunteers. Trainees not only learned about the Strategic National Stockpile and public health preparedness; they also put what they learned into practice at the Bioterrorism Exercise held in the same location.

To register for an upcoming Public Health Volunteer Training and find out about future exercises, please complete and return the Volunteer Training Registration Form or email info.mchd@utmb.edu.