Hillsides Nurses Team Up with Pasadena Health Department

Dec. 29, 2008 - PRLog -- (PASADENA, CA)— In hopes of having a happy, healthy holiday season and New Year, Pasadena Public Health Department sent nurses to administer flu vaccines to children and youth living at Hillsides, a Pasadena foster care children’s charity. The clinic, held in the charity’s nursing offices, was a great success.
According to Hillsides Nurse Kim Weleba, all but three of the children living at the residential treatment facility received the vaccine. “The Pasadena Health Department was even nice enough to provide several doses of the nasal Flumist for some of our children who were terrified of the needle version.”
After the vaccine, children and youth were monitored in the office and were treated to healthy snacks and stickers by nursing staff at the children’s charity.
“This was our second year providing flu shots to the children and youth. It was a combined effort of our nurses and the Pasadena Public Health Department nurses,” said Weleba, adding that the Pasadena Immunization Coalition was instrumental in getting vaccines to the children living at the charity.
“Through the Health Department we have been able to access a variety of vaccines for our children that may have been prohibitive due to cost,” said Weleba, who joined the Coalition last year to help spread awareness of vaccination in the community. “The Coalition has given so much to Hillsides.”
Hillsides’ fight against the flu started earlier in the fall when administration provided a hundred doses of vaccine for interested staff. Those who did not get it on campus in one of the several clinics held to accommodate different shifts were directed to other community sources.
“We hope everyone takes advantage of the vaccine this year so we can have a happy, healthy holiday season,” said Weleba, adding that “an increased awareness of hand washing amongst staff and  teaching good handwashing technique in school should help greatly reduce the spread of germs this year.”

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As a Pasadena charity founded in 1913, Hillsides creates safe places for children in foster care living in its residential treatment center and is a community treatment center preventing the cycle of abuse for children at risk and their families.