UWM NEWS STUDENTS AT THE HEART OF UWM VACCINATION CLINIC “These nursing students were so One by one, day by day, people stream happy to put their scrubs on and gather through the UWM Student Union to as a clinical group for this,” says Kim receive their COVID-19 vaccinations. Litwack, dean of the College of Nursing. And as she watches them come and “We’ve all been carrying a weight go, nursing doctoral student around for so long, and we’re Tala Fuad Hatem Abu Zahra not even aware of it.” feels heartened by the UWM junior Cassidy steady progress against an Kolbeck gave clinic dose insidious disease. No. 10,000 to John Moser, “The people I’ve a UWM alum who lives in vaccinated are hopeful. the campus neighborhood. A They are tired of masks, jubilant Moser said vaccination and they miss their means he can soon visit his vulnerable family members,” Kim Litwack 92-year-old father, whom he’d not says Abu Zahra, a registered seen in 14 months. nurse. “They’re trusting the science and UWM’s vaccination clinic was one of the research.” nine sites operating at UW campuses. Abu Zahra is a volunteer, administering Tommy Thompson, UW System interim shots at UWM’s public vaccination president, wanted campuses to contribute clinic alongside 200 UWM nursing to the vaccination effort just as they’d done undergraduates. The clinic, a partnership for surge testing. “The Wisconsin Idea with Advocate Aurora Health and the City is about our universities stepping up and of Milwaukee Health Department, began solving problems,” Thompson says. More operating March 3. By mid-April, it had than a million COVID-19 tests have been administered more than 10,000 doses.
administered to students and community members at UW System campuses, including more than 83,000 at UWM. Morgan Koerber, a clinic volunteer and UWM senior, says she and her fellow nursing students are gaining hands-on experience that will be invaluable when launching their careers. “This gives me the opportunity to be involved in clinical work during a global pandemic, something that doesn’t occur very often on this scale,” Koerber says. “I’m excited to be part of the process.” UW System authorized a $500 tuition credit for students who work two days, or 16 hours, at the clinic. “I am very thankful that UWM is reducing some of my financial burden,”clinic volunteer and UWM senior Hannah Polan says. UWM has one of the largest arrays of health care programs in Wisconsin, with more than 3,300 students enrolled in its College of Nursing, College of Health Sciences and the Joseph J. Zilber School of Public Health. Faculty members and students working at two community nursing centers have provided health care to underserved populations for more than 40 years. “We have a longstanding history in our city of providing public health care services to our community,” UWM Provost Johannes Britz says. “We are truly a campus for the community.” – Laura L. Otto
UWM nursing student Cassidy Kolbeck delivers the clinic's 10,000th COVID-19 vaccination dose to UWM alumnus John Moser.
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UWM ALUMNI SPECIAL EDITION
SPRING 2021
