“Convenience and equity were top of mind when developing this new vaccination clinic. By employing grassroots strategies, we hope to reach busy families with small children and help alleviate the stress of making this important decision to protect their families against COVID-19.”
SAN JOSE, Calif. (PRWEB)
October 17, 2022
Santa Clara Family Health Plan will partner with local community-based organizations and public libraries to distribute Lily the Llama Helps Her Herd, a children’s book written by Stanford graduate Emma Rashes to promote COVID-19 vaccines for children.
Rashes’ debut book is dedicated to teaching young people and their families about the importance of vaccinations for themselves, and for the community.
“It is important for families with young children to have access to information about how vaccines work and why they are important,” Rashes says. “I hope that children and their families read Lily the Llama Helps Her Herd and feel empowered to make an informed decision to get vaccinated.”
SCFHP has purchased 2,300 copies of Lily the Llama Helps Her Herd to be distributed at seven San Jose Public Library locations, schools, Family Resource Centers, and other community-based organizations. Along with the book distribution, SCFHP will leverage the vaccine educational workshop Rashes developed with her Stanford mentors and roll out a communications toolkit to equip these organizations in having important vaccine conversations. To participate and get copies of the book, organizations should complete the survey found at http://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SCFHPLilytheLlama.
The SCFHP Blanca Alvarado Community Resource Center (CRC) is also offering a series of vaccination clinics open exclusively to infants and toddlers. During these targeted vaccine clinics, the CRC transforms into a welcoming space for children with games and friendly staff available to answer questions to make getting vaccines a positive experience.
“Convenience and equity were top of mind when developing this new vaccination clinic,” said Mike Gonzalez, SCFHP Director of Community Engagement. “By employing grassroots strategies, we hope to reach busy families with small children and help alleviate the stress of making this important decision to protect their families against COVID-19.”
Visit crc.scfhp.com to see the schedule for the SCFHP Blanca Alvarado CRC Infant and Toddler Vaccine Clinics. The Blanca Alvarado CRC is located at 408 N. Capitol Ave., San Jose, CA, 95133.
The Children’s Vaccination Readiness Initiative is in response to low vaccine rates amongst high-risk population groups. With the launch of the initiative, SCFHP seeks to use a targeted grassroots approach to engage and inform Medi-Cal beneficiaries aged 0-12 and their parents or caregivers about the importance of vaccinations, support families and providers in having safe and healthy conversations about immunizations and provide a calm vaccination experience.
“The pandemic has affected many families throughout the county and in our city. By partnering with the Santa Clara Family Health Plan, we hope to provide families’ access to health resources and information in ways that the whole family may enjoy and learn from,” said Jill Bourne, San José City Librarian.
Getting vaccinated and boosted for COVID-19 remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, and the community from catching and spreading COVID-19. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), unvaccinated individuals are at much higher risk for testing positive for COVID than those who are vaccinated.
About Santa Clara Family Health Plan
Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) is a local, community-based health plan dedicated to creating opportunities for better health and wellness for all. In partnership with providers and community organizations since 1997, we work to ensure everyone in Santa Clara County has access to equitable, high-quality health care. With a strong commitment to integrity, outstanding service, and support for our community, we serve more than 315,000 people through our Medi-Cal and Cal MediConnect health care plans. For more information, visit
http://www.scfhp.com.
About the author
Emma Rashes is a recent Stanford University graduate. She hopes to pursue a career in medicine. This project emerged out of her passion for early childhood literacy and deep commitment to science education. She is grateful for the support and guidance from mentors at the Stanford Center for Health Education, Stanford Graduate School of Education, Stanford Biology Department, and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford on this project. A lesson plan for Lily the Llama, which includes a link to a free eBook, can be found here.
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