VCOM Virginia Yearbook 2021

OUTREACH

Working Together for Our Local Communities

D ue to the COVID-19 pandemic, the community outreach experience was highly limited for VCOM-Virginia. This did not discourage the students or faculty from supporting their surrounding communities with donation drives, acts of kindness and charity and serving in COVID-19 vaccination clinics. The following pages show just a portion of the outreach activities that were held.

Sewing and Donating Masks - Tiffany Carpenetti, PhD, assistant professor for

Anatomy, helped students and staff make and supply masks for healthcare providers. VCOM purchased the supplies, including H600 surgical wrap, to produce masks that were distributed to hospitals and EMS groups in our community. These masks will helped fill the gap left by the significant shortage of PPE available. PPE Collection - In an effort to collect needed supplies for healthcare workers, the faculty, students, and staff from VCOM rallied to collect Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to assist. To spearhead the effort, VCOM contributed thousands of dollars of PPE equipment from each its four campuses in Virginia, South Carolina, Alabama, and Louisiana to be used in local hospitals to help combat the COVID-19 crisis. Baby Book Drive - The VCOM-Virginia American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians (ACOP) student organization hosted a Baby Book Drive from June 1-4, 2021, to gather books for ages 0-6. They collected over 150 books through donations and our amazon wishlist. These books went toward the Reach Out and Read Program for the New Beginnings Pediatrics Clinic. Reach Out and Read helps ensure that every child has the healthy foundation they need—cognitively, socially, and emotionally. Administer Vaccines - VCOM-Virginia students and Faculty spent February 2, 2001 helping administer COVID-19 vaccinations. Sprouts of Hope - The student organization, Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS), held the event “Sprouts of Hope for Our Seniors” on the VCOM patio. The students replanted succulents into larger, more permanent pots and wrote special notes to the retirement community residents. The GHHS officers delivered to them to the Warm Hearth Retirement Community’ to be a ray of light during a tumultuous time.

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