UK College of Health Sciences Volunteers Assist at Kroger Field Vaccination Clinic
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 24, 2021) — About 70 University of Kentucky College of Health Sciences faculty, staff and students volunteered their services at the UK COVID-19 vaccination clinic at Kroger Field on Saturday, Feb. 20. The volunteers enabled the clinic to offer expanded Saturday hours and an increased vaccination capacity by about 1,000 people. This is the fourth of a five-week volunteer effort from UK's health care colleges to extend clinic hours from noon to 6 p.m. each Saturday.
The UK Kroger Field COVID-19 vaccination clinic normally operates from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays. Overall, UK HealthCare has vaccinated more than 55,000 people with 24,033 people having completed boosters including frontline health care workers, first responders, teachers and school personnel and people over age 70 in phase 1B.
"Professionally speaking, this was another outstanding volunteer event for the University, as we were able to help deliver thousands of vaccines to our state's residents in an organized, efficient way," said UK College of Health Sciences Dean Scott Lephart. "The teamwork was amazing to see. But personally, to me, it was so much more. To watch my colleagues give up their free time to pitch in and help — it speaks to the character of this college and University. I could not be more proud of what was accomplished. It just feels good to help in any way we can and I want to do it again."
Faculty, staff and students from the college participated by serving in roles from everything from immunizers to wayfinders. In addition to the group from the College of Health Sciences, volunteers from the College of Medicine, College of Pharmacy, College of Dentistry and College of Nursing are taking turns staffing the clinic.
For information about volunteer opportunities, particularly if you are credentialed to help in a clinical role at the Kroger Field Vaccination Clinic, see more information here.
For more information on how to register to receive the COVID-19 vaccine:
A signup tool has been developed where you will answer screening questions and then be invited to consent to be vaccinated, according to the state’s prioritized guidelines. The signup is available here.
For questions about this process, you can call 859-218-0111 or email vaccine@uky.edu. A list of current information and frequently asked questions is available at go.uky.edu/vaccine.
UK HealthCare is following Kentucky’s phased plan. Kentucky and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have directed that vaccinations be offered in the following phases:
- 1A: Long-term care facilities, assisted living facilities, healthcare personnel.
- 1B: First responders, anyone age 70 or older, K-12 school personnel.
- 1C: Anyone age 60 or older, anyone age 16 or older with CDC highest risk C19 conditions, all essential workers.
- 2: Anyone age 40 or older.
- 3: Anyone age 16 or older.
- 4: Children under the age of 16 if the vaccine is approved for this age group.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.