Students at the Heart of UWM Vaccination Clinic

One by one, day by day, people stream through the UWM Student Union to receive their COVID-19 vaccinations. And as she watches them come and go, nursing doctoral student Tala Fuad Hatem Abu Zahra feels heartened by the steady progress against an insidious disease.

“The people I’ve vaccinated are hopeful. They are tired of masks, and they miss their vulnerable family members,” says Abu Zahra, a registered nurse. “They’re trusting the science and the research.”

Abu Zahra is a volunteer, administering shots at UWM’s public vaccination clinic alongside 200 UWM nursing undergraduates. The clinic, a partnership with Advocate Aurora Health and the City of Milwaukee Health Department, began operating March 3. By mid-April, it had administered more than 10,000 doses.

“These nursing students were so happy to put their scrubs on and gather as a clinical group for this,” says Kim Litwack, dean of the College of Nursing.

“We’ve all been carrying a weight around for so long, and we’re not even aware of it.” UWM junior Cassidy Kolbeck gave clinic dose No. 10,000 to John Moser, a UWM alum who lives in the campus neighborhood. A jubilant Moser said vaccination means he can soon visit his 92-year-old father, whom he’d not seen in 14 months.

UWM’s vaccination clinic was one of nine sites operating at UW campuses. Tommy Thompson, UW System interim president, wanted campuses to contribute to the vaccination effort just as they’d done for surge testing. “The Wisconsin Idea is about our universities stepping up and solving problems,” Thompson says. More than a million COVID-19 tests have been 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.”

UWM nursing student Cassidy Kolbeck delivers the clinic's 10,000th COVID-19 vaccination dose to UWM alumnus John Moser.

UWM Photo/Elora Hennessey