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CRMH pharmacists tackle pediatric need by coordinating Vaccines for Children program

CRMH pharmacists tackle pediatric need by coordinating Vaccines for Children program
Most parents can relate to the saying “less is more”. Whether referring to the use of glitter on an art project or the number of stops you have to make when running errands, most would agree that fewer is better. Now, parents can plan for fewer stops when scheduling well-visits and vaccinations for their children as well.

Thanks to the efforts of Kelcey Semple PharmD, BCACP, BCADM, Ambulatory Care Pharmacist for Carle Richland, our pediatric patients at the Carle Olney location are able to receive their childhood vaccinations during wellness checks. Previously, vaccines had to be scheduled separately through the local health office, which required parents to schedule two appointments for their children…one for the actual Well-Child Visit and one for the recommended childhood vaccinations.

“COVID has brought to light the need to challenge “the norm” and make sure that we are offering all opportunities available to make it accessible and convenient for parents to get their kids those milestone vaccines they need,” Semple said.

While the Carle Olney clinic providers will be able to assist their patients in getting their needed vaccines during their wellness visit, currently there are not appointments available just to get a vaccine.

“We are hoping to expand that in the future, but at this point we don’t have the capacity to just do vaccine appointments. We are only offering the vaccinations as part of the child’s wellness visit and only at Carle Olney at this time. The Carle Bridgeport and Carle West Salem locations are not yet set-up for child vaccinations,” notes Semple.

CRMH is excited to make this first step in opening the door for providing an additional service line.

“Kelcey recognized the gap in vaccination coverage in our community and tackled this challenge head on. She spent countless hours developing the program and preparing for the State Inspection, assisting with the EPIC build and helping to train staff,” said Sara Buehnerkemper PharmD, Director of Ancillary Services for CRMH.

Buehnerkemper was so impressed with Semple’s work to bring this program to the Carle Olney location, she nominated her for a Key Contributor Award, which she was awarded.

“I nominated Kelcey for this award because she is the perfect example of furthering goals for our organization and continually performs over and above her everyday duties,” says Buehnerkemper.

The Vaccines for Children program has officially launched at Carle Olney and is available to patients seeing one of the Carle Olney providers.

“I’m excited to say that we have the green light from the state, the vaccines are here and ready to be used, our staff has been trained and we are excited to begin this service for our littlest patients,” says Semple.

“It’s a good feeling to have the program available and to see all the work pay off.”

Categories: Redefining Healthcare, News

Tags: richland, vaccines