Project Description:
This project working collaboratively with other ACL Tennessee grantees will provide critical
services to help Tennesseans combat COVID-19 and ensure vaccines are equally accessible to
the disability population. The project will collaborate with the Vanderbilt University School of
Nursing and Vanderbilt University Medical School (VUMC/VUSN) Mobile Vaccine Program
providing COVID-19 vaccines to the uninsured and others who might not otherwise have access
to the vaccine in the greater Nashville area. Previously the project has focused primarily on
residents in Hispanic, Somalian, Kurdish, African American, homeless, and low-income
communities, but had no disabilities expertise.
Since the program began, Vanderbilt volunteers have vaccinated more than 6,500 people and
given approximately 14,000 doses (first, second and booster). The program is led by Christian
Ketel, DNP, RN, a faculty member at VUSN, and Carrie Plummer, PhD, MSN, a faculty
member at VUSN. The program will also work in conjunction with the Tennessee
Developmental Disabilities Network including the Tennessee Council on Developmental
Disabilities, Disability Rights Tennessee, and the University of Tennessee Center on Disabilities,
and the in-home vaccine project led by Disability Rights Tennessee. To this point, the Mobile
Vaccine Program has not had the expertise and training needed to include people with
disabilities. The Expanding the Public Health Workforce Project will provide that partnership.
Activities planned for this award include:
• Provide access assistance for vaccines and boosters
• Provide assistance for people with disabilities and community organizations with
connection to other services
• Provide information about activities that address social isolation and activities that
support public health and wellbeing of people with disabilities
• Provide culturally affirmative and linguistically accessible information and materials
