MICHIGAN, USA — Back in December, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services called on the Michigan National Guard to help with the distribution and administration of vaccine funds.
By the first week of January, the guard was deployed throughout the state.
At Mercy Health in Muskegon, Sgt. Christian Grow from the Detroit Light Guard Armory Regimen says he is happy to help.
"We have a few different roles that we can fill, mainly it's COVID testing COVID vaccines, and then any sort of administrative work that we may be able to take care of it. All the other bases are covered by workers, particularly today, My role here today was mainly preparing vaccines for the nursing staff to distribute to the patients," Sgt. Grow said.
Nurse Karla Cleveland, has been at the hospital throughout the pandemic and said she is ecstatic that the vaccine has finally arrived.
"It's a good day because I'm able to vaccinate, my colleagues with the Pfizer COVID vaccine, which is very important to me as a nurse, because my colleagues on the frontline have been dealing with this since the onset, and it's been very stressful for them. So it's really important that we get everybody vaccinated, and get this under control so we can get back to normal, " Cleveland said.
But, the National Guard was not the only group that was called in to help.
When health care workers started getting sick and hospitals where still overwhelmed amidst the vaccine rolling out, one retired nurse called the hospital to see if they needed extra help.
"I've worked 33 years in the ICU. And I've been retired for two years now. I actually, I called them, because with the COVID going on. I couldn't do the things I wanted to do, being retired. And I thought, if I can help a little bit, and help get this country back to normal. I should come in and help. So I called on a Monday, and before the week was out they handed me hired back in," David Westphal said.
He said the last time he worked there it was in the old building, not the new 10-story tower. They have a new computerized charting system that he had to learn because they were on a different computerized charting system.
"And it's been great. I've, I've been able to come in, help give vaccines. See my old co workers which I could do have a little socialization which isn't allowed much anymore. So, I couldn't have asked for more," Westphal said.
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