Community Care

UNC Asheville Opens On-Campus Vaccine Clinic in Partnership with MAHEC

By UNC Asheville

February 24^th, 2021

Nearly a year into the coronavirus pandemic, UNC Asheville has a new role to play in combating COVID-19, expanding the campus’ commitment of care and compassion beyond the classrooms and into the community, as the Reuter Center has been transformed into a COVID-19 immunization site in partnership with the Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC).

“As a key community partner in Western North Carolina, UNC Ashville is honored to collaborate with MAHEC to provide lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines to our community,” said UNC Asheville Chancellor Nancy J. Cable in a news release announcing the site. “Our joint COVID-19 immunization site further deepens the close collaboration our two organizations have fostered since the beginning of the pandemic and demonstrates our shared commitment to serving the needs of our community in Asheville and the region.”

Setting up the clinic started with a heavy lift for Campus Operations team. Since the Reuter Center had been closed as the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute moved classes online in spring 2020, the facility had become temporary storage for extra furniture from classrooms de-densified for social distancing in fall 2020. Campus Operation moved the classroom furniture to make way for folding tables and chairs, stanchions and curtains for navigation and privacy, signage and extra space for social distancing. Within the first few weeks of the spring semester, the downstairs Manheimer Room was ready.

The first dose of the vaccine arrived by mid-February, amidst winter weather and distribution delays. From Feb. 20-22, MAHEC staff administered just over 1,000 vaccines. By the third day of operation, the patient time from door to door was just 20 minutes.

“This clinic is an extension of an ongoing partnership with MAHEC, which has been essential to our return to campus in the fall and in keeping our campus community informed, safe, and healthy throughout the year,” said UNC Asheville’s Emergency Management Director David Weldon, who manages the site. “Working together with MAHEC and our professional staff on campus, we were able to quickly apply to be a vaccine site, find an ideal location on campus, and facilitate this vital service for the community. Thanks to everyone involved for their work throughout the process.”

WLOS covered the successful first full day of operation.

"Individuals, in particular, are just saying, 'Now I feel safer seeing my family, seeing people that I haven't been able to see before, going forward,'" said Frank Castelblanco, a MAHEC nurse, on air with WLOS during the first day.

"I love it," he continued. "This is what I live for. This is what I’m dedicated to. I consider it a privilege to be able to serve and do this here in our county."

Recipients of the vaccine include members of the community who have been on the waitlist for weeks, such as Donna Thompson, who received her first dose of the vaccine at the UNC Asheville MAHEC clinic the opening weekend. She expressed her gratitude via a WLOS interview as well.

When it opened the UNC Asheville MAHEC clinic had a waitlist of 4,000; Buncombe County’s Health Department’s waitlist numbered more than 40,000 at the time. Individuals who are currently eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccination can register for the waitlist at covid.mahec.net (no “www” and no “https”). Community members on the waitlist will be contacted to make an appointment as vaccines become available.

The vaccine site is supported by many departments across campus including Information Technology Services, Public Safety, and Dining Services, with University employees and community members serving as volunteers. These individuals help attendees navigate their way through campus and through the vaccination process, with MAHEC professionals administering each dose. MAHEC coordinates clinical operations pre-registration/waitlist, vaccinations, data entry and clinical and non-clinical volunteers.

Individuals interested in volunteering can sign up here.

“MAHEC and UNCA are eager to urgently vaccinate as many people as possible every week until COVID is no longer present in Western North Carolina,” commented MAHEC’s CEO Jeff Heck. “UNCA is a great partner and together we will work to bring the vaccine to as many residents as possible.”

The site continues to call individuals as vaccine shipments arrive. Schedule updates and frequently asked questions will be posted at https://coronavirus.unca.edu/faq/covid-19-vaccine/, and individuals will be contacted directly with their appointment details.