Grant funds COVID Outreach to Eastern NC Tribes

Healthier Together Grant funded COVID-19 Outreach to Eastern North Carolina Tribes

This fall, Dr. David Tillman, chair of public health in the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and Dr. Amy Hinkelman, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology, along with the Harnett County Coharie Indian Association received a Healthier Together Grant funded by the NC Counts Coalition.

Educational sessions were well attended by Coharie tribe members, and COVID-19 vaccination numbers increased among tribe members.

The Campbell faculty worked alongside community leaders within the Coharie Tribe to train tribal outreach workers, provide educational materials, hold local community events to address concerns and questions about the COVID-19 vaccines, and connect tribal members with local resources including the CUCCC mobile clinic to get vaccinated.

These efforts have sparked additional opportunities to extend this outreach to other tribal communities, including the Waccamaw Tribe and collaborations with Dr. Ronny Bell of the Lumbee Tribe and Dr. Linwood-Watson of the Haliwa-Saponi Tribe.

The hope is to continue to collaborate with tribal leaders to improve the health of our local tribal communities.