Richmond, Va. –
Volunteers from the Virginia Army National Guard at Fort Pickett near Blackstone, Virginia, Defense Logistics Agency Installation Management Richmond and DLA Aviation’s Customer Operations Directorate managed a pop-up vaccine clinic at Defense Supply Center Richmond April 27. More than 100 DLA employees were given the first of two COVID-19 vaccine injections.
Greg Kennedy, Fusion Operations Division chief, DLA Aviation Customer Operations Directorate, coordinated the event along with DLA Aviation Chief of Staff Tanya Hill, Chief of Public Affairs Amy Parker, DLA Human Resources Customer Account Manager Theresa Wolfe, DLA Installation Management Richmond’s Fire Chief Don Rodgers, Installation Operations Division Chief Adrienne Moore, and Site Director David Gibson.
“We wanted to offer the opportunity to as many of the employees who volunteered [for the clinic], in an effort to get 100% of them vaccinated,” Kennedy said.
Assistant Chief of Fire and Emergency Services Branch Christopher Bales developed the clinic floor plan in accordance with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to ensure a safe environment.
“We’ve used trial and error from other clinics in the past, so we were able to come up with a more efficient way to guide people through the process,” Kennedy said. “Chief Rodgers has years of experience conducting flu shot clinics, and he and Adrienne [Moore] were able to take that knowledge and apply it to the setup.”
Other safety precautions included social distancing, sanitizing frequently held items like pens and clipboards and providing sanitation stations.
Carl Allen, the deputy director of the Procurement Process Support Directorate, said he chose to receive the vaccine out of concern for others’ health, including his parents and in-laws. Allen took advantage of the installation clinic’s easy access.
“All I had to do was respond to an email,” he said. “I filled out a sheet of paper and showed up with my ID.”
Supply Systems Analyst Diana Hanke, who works in the Order Fulfillment Division of the Business Process Support Directorate, also considered the pop-up clinic a convenient option.
“The process was easy. This is my first opportunity to get [the vaccine] and I plan on coming back for the second dose,” she said.
Vaccine recipient and Executive Assistant to the Deputy Commander Brandi Schott also volunteered as a way to help protect her loved ones’ health.
“I have a grandchild and I want to make sure [the vaccine is] safe before he eventually gets it,” Schott said.
“I’m the first person in my family to get it,” she added. “I feel like it’s my responsibility to get the vaccine and if I show it’s safe for me, then everyone else will be encouraged to do it.”
Clinic volunteers reminded vaccine recipients to return for their second dose on May 25. The clinic will also provide first-round shots to other individuals on that day.