Dear Colleagues,
One of the most successful MU Health Care initiatives conceived during the pandemic involved offering a series of public drive-thru flu vaccination events at our South Providence Medical Building in Columbia.
During a time of social distancing, masking and the threat of COVID-19, these vaccination events allowed families to hop in the car on a Saturday morning and receive their influenza vaccine without leaving the safety of their vehicle. The events offered convenience, but it was anything but easy to execute. While some days offered sunshine and mild weather, other dates were windy, rainy or cold.
The success of the 2020 drive-thru events prompted us to bring them back again in 2021. Once again, it was a huge hit with the community.
Future years allowed us to offer the COVID-19 vaccination to the drive-thru event, and we’ve branched out to offer a drive-thru in Fulton plus walk-in vaccination programs at many of our MU Health Care clinics across central Missouri.
On Oct. 12, I visited the drive-thru vaccination event in Columbia to thank the staff who were giving up their Saturday to help protect others from becoming one of the hundreds of thousands of people who are hospitalized with the flu each year. I also received my flu and COVID-19 vaccination while I was there.
During this fall’s vaccination events at South Providence, we averaged more than 1,100 vaccinations per day. This is quite an accomplishment and a testament to every member of the vaccination committee, staff who assisted with each event and the other businesses, organizations and law enforcement agencies that partnered with us to make this program as successful as possible.
These events have become part of our fall routine but let us not forget the extraordinary time that sparked the beginning of this annual ritual or the people who helped make it a reality.
Thanks to all of you for protecting our community and ensuring MU Health Care continues to fulfill its mission to save and improve lives.
As we head into the Thanksgiving holiday, I want to express how thankful I am to have such a large and dedicated group of faculty and staff who are committed to our mission of improving the health of all Missourians and beyond. I wish you all a happy and enjoyable Thanksgiving with family and friends.
Sincerely,
Rick Barohn, MD
Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and Hugh E. and Sarah D. Stephenson Dean, School of Medicine
rbarohn@health.missouri.edu
