Methodist in the Media
Nebraska Methodist College Nursing Students Provide Free Vaccines and Screenings at All People’s Pantry
Published: Nov. 7, 2022
Since March, the Hanscom Park United Methodist Church has held a quarterly event called the All People’s Pantry to provide culturally appropriate foods to Omaha’s immigrant and refugee communities. Maxwell Morgan, a volunteer and an immigrant from South Sudan, said the pantry is integral to combating food insecurity in communities that aren’t fully served by traditional pantries.
At Saturday’s event, volunteers and nursing students with Nebraska Methodist College joined to provide free flu and COVID-19 vaccines and diabetes and cholesterol screenings, as well as lead and hemoglobin screenings for children. Throughout the morning, the health room was bustling with people getting vaccinated and referred to community health providers.
Kiley Petersmith, director of community engagement for Nebraska Methodist College, supervised a team of student volunteers and helped people fill out consent forms in the makeshift clinic. She said they had a lot of interest in vaccinations — a fact she attributed, at least in part, to the comfortable and welcoming environment created by the church community.
“The future of health care, and nursing specifically, says that health care needs to be delivered where people live, work, play and pray,” she said. “So here we are.”
