Nursing Students among First to Administer COVID Vaccine

Pioneer spirit brings students to the vanguard of national battle against pandemic

Sacred Heart University nursing students became some of the first in the state to administer the much-anticipated COVID-19 vaccine to health-care workers on the front lines at Danbury Hospital last month.

Dozens of students who expect to graduate from the Dr. Susan L. Davis, R.N., & Richard J. Henley College of Nursing (DHCON) in May will spend the next several weeks assessing patients, administering the vaccine and monitoring for side effects, said DHCON Dean Mary Alice Donius. She expects many of the 165 senior student nurses in the clinical program will take part as vaccinations continue throughout the semester.

“This is part of their public-health experience,” Donius said. “It really is a wonderful, hands-on participation and understanding of what goes into protecting the public’s health and the nurses’ critical role in that.”

According to Donius, the students, who have been working at Danbury Hospital as part of their clinical training, completed an orientation to prepare to administer the vaccine properly. In addition to monitoring health-care workers who receive it, the students are developing informational materials to help people better understand the vaccine, its potential side effects and the critical protection it provides those who receive it.

True to its pioneer spirit, SHU is on the vanguard of assisting state and federal agencies to promote and administer the COVID-19 vaccine. Last month, the University announced it was preparing a cadre of health-care students, faculty and staff, plus local volunteers, to help disseminate the vaccine through the Medical Reserve Corps, a specialized force that includes just 15 university-based units nationwide. SHU is the only Connecticut institution of higher education to be part of this lifesaving effort.

The University also is exploring the possibility of becoming a regional mass vaccination site, as it has the space and facilities to assist in such an operation.

SHU has had a longstanding relationship with Danbury Hospital, which is part of the Nuvance health-care system, said Heather Ferrillo, assistant professor and program director of first professional degree and second degree accelerated nursing programs. Students in the Danbury area and from the tri-state region volunteered to spend their winter break completing this public-health rotation, she said.

“This is actual public health nursing practice. They are affecting change; they see it as an opportunity to have a positive effect on not just the community, but the nation,” Donius said.

Deborah A. Hewitt, assistant vice president of nursing professional development at Nuvance Health, said the SHU seniors joined students from four other colleges who are helping with the vaccination efforts at Danbury. She called SHU’s students very professional and well prepared.

“Having the SHU nursing students working as one of the primary vaccinations groups in the Nuvance Health vaccination clinic for Danbury Hospital has been instrumental in enabling the hospital clinical teams to continue to care for the critically ill inpatients,” Hewitt said. “The students come into the clinic daily with fresh, positive attitudes and are happy to be able to help with this extremely important vaccination. The staff of Nuvance Health has had a positive response to seeing the nursing students, and we are very grateful to have them as part of the Nuvance team during this unprecedented time!”

Though cases of COVID-19 had begun dwindling nationally by the end of summer, November brought the start of a new surge. As of Dec. 30, Connecticut reported more than 182,000 cases of COVID-19 and 5,924 related deaths.

Donius said her students understand and are honored to have a place in public-health history. “I told them to think of this in context of the legacy of modern nursing. Your great-grandchildren will be told the story of your participation during the pandemic of 2020,” she said.