Campus Partnership to Support Community Vaccination Efforts

MADISON, Wis. – Vaccination efforts across the state will get a boost thanks to a grant from the Wisconsin Partnership Program (WPP) at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) and a partnership with the UW–Madison School of Nursing and four UW System nursing schools.

WPP has awarded a COVID-19 Response Grant to the UW–Madison School of Nursing to help support vaccination efforts in Wisconsin. Through the initiative, Badger Nurses Collaborating on Covid-19 Vaccine Education and Delivery (BN-CoVED), the UW-Madison School of Nursing will collaborate with community partners and nursing schools at UW–Eau Claire, UW–Green Bay, UW–Oshkosh and UW–Stevens Point to support and contribute to the immense effort required to successfully vaccinate the public against COVID-19.

The grant supports the coordination, education and deployment of nursing students, faculty, staff and alumni volunteers to provide clinic support and vaccine administration, as well as educational programs on preventing spread and making safe choices during the ongoing pandemic

Co-led by Susan Zahner, DrPH, RN, FAAN, Professor and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, and Barbara Pinekenstein, DNP, RN-BC, FAAN, Clinical Professor and Interim Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, the initiative brings the support and expertise of the UW–Madison School of Nursing’s students, faculty, staff and alumni to the state’s vaccination efforts.

“The UW–Madison School of Nursing has a long history of partnering with campus and local public health departments to staff influenza vaccination clinics and during public health emergencies. Our prior experience with these efforts demonstrates that we are an ideal partner in contributing on multiple levels of implementation and outreach,” says Zahner. “We greatly appreciate our community partners who assist us in preparing our student nurses for the workforce. This award gives us a chance to support them in their response to this public health challenge.”

The UW–Madison School of Nursing began planning for the initiative in January and commenced providing COVID-19 vaccinations in collaboration with University Health Services at the beginning of February. The School anticipates moving forward with staffing vaccination clinics and educational programs in collaboration with other community partners in the coming weeks.

“Administration of the vaccine across our state will require tremendous coordination and effort among many organizations and agencies,” says Richard Moss, PhD, Chair of WPP’s Partnership Research and Education Committee. “We are pleased to partner with the UW-Madison Nursing School and nursing schools throughout the UW System to help address the urgent need of vaccine administration.”

Badger Nurses Collaborating on Covid-19 Vaccine Education and Delivery (BN-CoVED) received a $185,000 COVID-19 Response Grant from the Wisconsin Partnership Program as well as supplemental funding of $100,000 from an anonymous donor.