Two health care providers join together to offer free flu shots

Akron Children’s Hospital and Health Heroes, Inc. have partnered with WCSD to provide flu vaccinations to students and staff at no cost, regardless of their insurance status.
Dr. Michael Tefs, superintendent/CEO of WCSD, stated that the district, “is quite proud of this partnership [between ACH and Health Heroes, Inc.]”
Students and staff at WHS were given the opportunity to be vaccinated Oct. 20 in the morning during the school day. This allowed for minimal disruption and allowed students to minimize absenteeism from school due to receiving the vaccination from their healthcare provider during school hours. This also eliminated the hassle of forcing parents to take time off work to transport their children to their healthcare provider.
“The ease and convenience of offering the flu vaccine clinic during school hours…without concerns of parents taking time off work to take their child to a health care provider is a wonderful benefit of the program,” according to Stacey Dailey, WCSD’s Registered Nurse Supervisor.
The WCSD will not be evaluated any costs from this program as the vaccination clinics are a federal program that ACH has chosen to participate in. Health Heroes brings all of the vaccines, supplies and staff to administer the vaccine to the district.
“Literally, all the district has to provide is a table and a few chairs for the Health Heroes staff,” Dailey also commented.
Lana Gesler, Registered School Nurse, believes, “it is a great program. They [Health Heroes] have a great goal and that is to vaccinate all children a vaccine regardless if they can pay for it or not.”
Gesler hopes this will lessen absenteeism due to students stricken with the flu.
“By getting the vaccine, less people will get the flu,” Gessler said.
Students and faculty were given the option of receiving the FluMist (nasal spray) or FluZone (injection)vaccination. Approximately 55 students and 20 faculty members received the flu vaccination at WHS on Oct. 20.