by Julie Walmsley, Communication and Marketing Volunteer

Mai Phan from the UCLA Red Cross club helps register people at an H1N1 vacinnation clinic in Balwin Hills.

As the Red Cross continues to encourage H1N1 flu vaccinations, local volunteers provided valuable assistance to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) at 112 H1N1 vaccination clinics held throughout the County during the Fall.

The Red Cross and DPH have a long-standing partnership of providing mutual assistance. The Points of Distribution flu vaccination locations, known as PODS, successfully vaccinated thousands of County residents in very short periods of time. ARCLA volunteers were instrumental in directing clients through the intake and registration process, also leading patients to appropriate vaccination stations and answering questions. Over 50 ARCLA members volunteered for the series of clinics, many working several times at various locations.

Downtown Los Angeles resident Fran Payne, a new volunteer who joined the Red Cross after the recent Station Fire, assisted for two days at the USC Lyons Center, where approximately 3,000 Los Angeles residents were vaccinated each day. Payne, along with other Red Cross volunteers, organized arrivals and directed vaccine recipients to treatment stations.

Payne also volunteered at a POD located at MacArthur Park, where approximately 2,000 “at-risk” LA residents received H1N1 shots. Payne received on-site training from the Department of Public Health and was able to answer client questions about the process.

Volunteer Christina Jurado applied lessons learned from many Mass Care and Mass Shelter disaster experiences since joining the Red Cross in 2005. The Central East District Vice Chair volunteered at the Chevy Chase Recreational Center, where 1,000 doses of vaccine were provided to local residents. Jurado noted that her training in managing the paperwork and accompanying questions during the intake process was instrumental. The County-provided nurses performed the injections, but relied on the other workers and volunteers to help with procedural questions.