a day with 200- 400 volunteers. It was a massive operation to transform the whole organization.
The first floor of the operation was pre-registration, just like a gate at LAX. We made sure those from the hardest hit zip codes got priority, like they’ re walking in boarding first class at an airport, they got to walk right through because we knew they were the ones who needed it most. Those living in households with COVID-19 got to walk right through and get their vaccine first.
The next step was registration, that clunky, My Turn system from the California Department of Public Health, and all those involved in developing it. But they were never on the ground. They were all working from home and they knew better. But what they didn’ t know was how grandma was supposed to get on login and get a vaccine appointment?
We created a paper-based system so people can bypass the red tape. We literally handed you a pencil and a piece of paper and we got you registered, so the next thing was vaccination. We moved people through efficiently, effectively and we fought to keep a vaccine supply.
That was absolutely critical and essential. And then of course, all the supply chain logistics, procurement and inventory stock. Lots of challenging issues there with millions of dollars in supplies and donations moving at a very high and fast paced rate.
We’ re not Amazon; we’ re not Walmart. We’ re the little Kedren that was started in 1965 by 22 Black psychiatrists to answer the call of Black and Brown people in mental crisis. And so in many ways very historic. Many would say this is a David and Goliath story, how did this little David, this little Kedren pull it off? We built this beautiful model.
We had done the messaging. We had done the outreach, we partnered with countless organizations including the AmeriCorps, California volunteers, the International Medical Corps, the American Red Cross, the Medical Reserve Corps, and countless other organizations to build this huge coalition. And through that, we were really able to improve and increase our efficiencies and make this financially sustainable through so much of the in-kind philanthropy, human resource donations that really helped us become this massive effort that honestly no other site had seen.
Everything we learned, we packaged it in vehicles, and we sent it out to housing developments, to factories to schools, to churches, mosques, temples, to parks, to community organizations. We made sure we went to those that couldn’ t leave their home, vaccinating the homebound. We benefited from massive partnerships, because in each of those portfolios, it was direct partnerships with housing and urban planning, HUD, the housing authority of the city of Los Angeles.
The key is the mobile initiative, where we took off literally in our vehicles going with the street medicine team at Drew, and really being able to bring those two resources: Kedren vaccines and the mobile CDU street medicine team. Together, we were able to really vaccinate 10s of 1000s of more, because we didn’ t wait.
In doing so, we employed a model called the engage, educate, vaccinate and activate model where we engage people met them where they are. We will take the time to truly listen, hear your questions, and answer them. Make sure that you are informed and educated should you decide you choose to get these vaccines, because we wanted them to know that
CDU College of Medicine | PG. 18