Mobile pediatrics program answers community’s call with free immunizations

When the call came that 150 seventh-graders couldn’t attend school for not having state-required vaccinations, Laura Standish, RN, knew exactly what to do.

Within three days, Standish, obtained vaccines from the Tarrant County Public Health Department, recruited volunteers, set up operations in the Morningside Middle School library and was leading a free vaccination clinic on Aug. 29.

Media coverage

Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
Health science center provides vaccines to students in need

A Fort Worth Independent School District employee called Standish on Aug. 26, the first day of school, after "watching students being turned away from school because they didn’t have their required vaccinations," said Standish, Program Director for the mobile pediatrics program, operated by UNT Health with funding from the Rainwater Charitable Foundation. "He asked if we could come provide vaccines and help get these children back in school. Of course we said we’d love to help."

The parents didn’t have the means to provide the immunizations, said Danny Fracassi, Assistant Principal, and appreciated the convenience of offering the shots at no cost at the school. 

"Many times these children and families have difficulty getting to a clinic for routine check-ups and immunizations," Standish said. "The parents often have transportation issues, need financial assistance or have other barriers to health care access. We’re trying to alleviate those barriers to parents and provide access throughout the community."

Volunteers provided required immunizations for tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough; chickenpox; meningitis; and the recommended fourth vaccine for human papilloma virus.

"These students have missed three days of school," Fracassi said. "Our kids need every minute in the classroom. This partnership with Morningside Children’s Partnership and UNT Health is a blessing to our children. This will keep them in the classroom, on task and prepared for education."

Recent News

Abe Clark
  • Research
|Mar 28, 2024

Dr. Abe Clark honored with international research award

Abbot “Abe” Clark, PhD, FARVO, FAAO, regents professor of pharmacology and neuroscience in the School of Biomedical Sciences at The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, has received the International Society for Eye Research 2024 Ernst H. Bárány Prize.   The awar...
Processed With Lensa With Pt12 Filter
  • Research
|Mar 28, 2024

Dr. Steven Romero receives American Physiological Society award for excellence in research

Dr. Steven Romero, associate professor of Physiology and Anatomy at the School of Biomedical Sciences at The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, was named the 2024 Henry Pickering Bowditch Award Lecturer by the American Physiological Society. The lectureship is awarded to ...
Screenshot 2024 03 28 At 8.50.12 am
  • Our People
|Mar 28, 2024

Physical therapy student lands prestigious role in national organization

When Jonathan Hansen was an undergraduate intern at Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital, he encountered a man who had just suffered a stroke. The patient’s right side was completely paralyzed. Hansen, now a first-year student in The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Wort...
Jackie In Dc
  • Our People
|Mar 27, 2024

Personalized Health and Well-Being student repays generosity through advocacy

In 2019, The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth student Jacqueline Green said she felt hopeless. She became pregnant while experiencing hard financial times, and she didn’t have insurance. Compounding her stress was terrible grief. Her mother-in-law suddenly passed away,...