MACON, Ga. — Navicent Health partners with Bibb Schools to provide quality nursing staff at every school.
It's something they've been doing for years.
Navicent Health Licensed Practical Nurse Mandy Story usually works inside Bibb Schools, but now she's administering COVID-19 vaccines.
"Navicent partnered with DPH on giving vaccines, and that we were asked to come give them, and it's exciting," Story said.
Schoolhouse Health Program Coordinator Stacy Carr works with district leader Jamie Cassady on the partnership with Navicent Health.
"School nurses are employed by Navicent, and Navicent had a contract with Bibb County to provide nurses for their school clinics," Carr said.
"They're monitoring students. They're making sure students have the right meds, and in addition they have to do contract tracing, which can be a job in itself. That can take hours upon hours," Cassady said.
While Bibb students worked remotely for the entire month of January, the school nurses were asked to administer vaccines to the public at the Wellness Center in Macon.
"Our Superintendent is always looking for ways in which we can partner with the community, and this was one of those ways in which it was a win-win for everyone," Cassady said.
"So we were able to get a rotating schedule. They need nine nurses here per day, to do what they're doing, and so we have almost 30 licensed nurses in our program so they do that, and they just love it," Carr said.
Story is grateful she has the opportunity to do what she feels she was called to do.
"I love the fact that one day I'll look back and say I was a nurse during the pandemic. I was on the frontline, giving the vaccines and I think it'll be an amazing story to tell my grandkids one day," Story said.
The nurses are administering shots at the Wellness Center off of Northside Drive through Friday of next week. Appointments are between 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.