OSWEGO COUNTY – Oswego County continues to honor its volunteers in the battle against COVID-19. This week’s Volunteer of the Week is Brenda LaMay, retired Nurse Practitioner from Oswego Hospital.
LaMay has volunteered at several vaccination clinics as a Medical Evaluator.
“The County Health Department’s vaccination clinics are critical operations that have strengthened the community’s effort to battle COVID-19,” said Danielle Carlone, public health sanitarian for the Oswego County Health Department. “There have been a handful of providers who have volunteered as medical evaluators since our first clinics back in January.”
“The role of the medical evaluator (ME) is to oversee the medical aspect of the vaccination POD,” said Jodi Martin, RN, supervising public health nurse for the County Health Department. “In addition to answering questions from staff and patients, the ME determines if patients are good candidates for the vaccine and also helps EMS during emergency medical situations that may arise during the clinic.”
LaMay has participated in several vaccination clinics at G. Ray Bodley High School in Fulton, and will be returning to upcoming clinics for students during the school day.
Although she is retired, LaMay is keeping herself busy in her volunteer efforts and working per diem at the Oswego Hospital.
“I have volunteered throughout my nursing career,” noted LaMay, “So when I got the call, I thought this would be a great volunteering and learning opportunity for me.”
When asked about her overall volunteering experience, she said, “I am just amazed in the great system that the Oswego County Health Department has provided for our community and their families.”
The Oswego County Health Department is thankful for the many generous and talented volunteers that have come out to prove that “we are all in this together.” Their support has helped the department’s critical operations run as smoothly as they have. Volunteers have participated in vaccination clinics, answered phones and questions on the Oswego County COVID-19 Hotline, made homemade masks for the community, and helped with many other useful tasks.
The Health Department continues to recruit both medical and non-medical volunteers for upcoming COVID-19 vaccination and testing clinics.
Non-medical volunteers are needed to register and screen people who are being vaccinated, manage flow control, and help with other activities. People with a medical background can help with COVID-19 vaccinations and testing. They can monitor patients and provide emergency medical assistance.
“A mass vaccination clinic is a big undertaking, and we rely on support from many volunteers and partner agencies in addition to our own Health Department staff,” said Oswego County Public Health Director Jiancheng Huang. “The clinics have been running very smoothly, but we can always use more people to help with the many steps required to deliver the vaccine.”
Those interested can fill out a form on the county’s COVID-19 page and provide information about their availability, areas of interest and related information. Those with a medical background must also provide information about their medical license or CPR certification.
The application form is posted on the health department’s COVID-19 page at https://health.oswegocounty.com/information/2019_novel_coronavirus/medical_volunteering.php
For more information, go to the Oswego County Health Department’s COVID-19 page at health.oswegocounty.com/covid-19 or call its COVID-19 hotline at 315-349-3330. Phone lines are open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Under New York State Public Health Law, the Oswego County Health Department is the local public health authority regarding the COVID-19 pandemic response within the County of Oswego. The Oswego County Health Department works closely with New York State Department of Health regarding COVID-19 monitoring, response and reporting.
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