April 20, 2024
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Kane Health Dept. seeks more volunteers to help out at 3 vaccination sites

More medical, non-medical volunteers needed at Kane vaccination sites

By Kane County Chronicle staff report

Eileen Buck of St. Charles receives a COVID-19 vaccination from Donna Plonczynski, a volunteer with the Kane County Medical Reserve Corps, at the county's first COVID-19 mass vaccination site on Friday, March 19, 2021. The site is located in the former Sam's Club building at 501 N. Randall Road in Batavia. It will be open six days a week and is expected to serve 18,000 people per week to start. (Sandy Bressner - sbressner@shawmedia.com)

GENEVA – The Kane County Health Department is currently seeking more volunteers for all three COVID vaccination sites, officials announced in a news release.

Medical Reserve Corps Coordinator Claudia Reginato addressed Kane County’s need for community members who would like to volunteer at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic with details on what they could expect.

Volunteers may serve as frequently as they wish, as there is no minimum or maximum requirement.

While medical volunteers provide shots at the clinics, non-medical volunteers typically help in supporting roles such as symptom triage, greeting, distribution of registration forms, medical screening, flow monitoring and vaccine checkout, the release stated.

Non-medical volunteers might also help with entering data.

Medical volunteers must have a current license.

Dentists, dental hygienists, and pharmacists must complete specific training if working as vaccinators, as required by the state ofIllinois.

Non-medical volunteers must be good at working with the public and be able to provide excellent custom service, as well as being comfortable with utilizing technology.

All volunteers must complete confidentiality training and a Medical Reserve Corps 101 Orientation, which provides a notion of public health, emergency response basics, and volunteer competencies.

The basic training curriculum includes cultural competency, ethics, Federal Emergency Management Agency guidelines, and psychological first aid, among other trainings.

Medical volunteers must complete a vaccination training online and be approved on a vaccination competency checklist. All volunteers receive just-in-time training on their first shift at the vaccination clinics, the release stated.

Volunteers who are bilingual in Spanish and Hindi would be really helpful, but assistance with any other language would be welcome.

People may apply to be volunteers online at the Kane County Health Department website www.kanehealth.com click on the Kane County MRC logo in the bottom of the page. They will find additional information on the MRC, and a link to a fillable application form, which should be sent to kaneMRC@co.kane.il.us.

Volunteer locations and hours are Kane Vax Hub, 501 N. Randall Road, Batavia, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday; Aurora Vaccination Site, 970 North Lake St., Aurora, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday; and the Elgin-Cook clinic at the Eastside Recreational Center, 1080 East Chicago St., Elgin, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

All vaccine center hours are by appointment only. Dates and hours subject to change based on vaccine availability.

Information about scheduling a COVID-19 vaccination appointment is also on the site where volunteers can sign up.

Kane County