 On Thursday, March 11, in a grass-roots effort, a drive-through clinic was held at Rainbow Orchards to vaccinate 250 agricultural workers. This collaborative effort was initiated and coordinated by the Agricultural Community leadership, Robinsons Pharmacy, Marshall Hospital and our District 3 office.
Finding that there were significant barriers to reach this prioritized Tier, Lexi Boeger and Paul Bush had worked diligently to raise awareness and find solutions to identified challenges that included language and technology barriers as well as apprehension with government programs. Paul tried getting appointments for his crew online and continued to face daunting obstacles. Lexi and Paul then saw this as an opportunity for growers to work with local agency partners and the private sector to work around these roadblocks, ensuring this part of our community would not be left behind.
Dennis Thomas, CEO of Robinsons Pharmacy, (and I'm proud to say, my husband), took the lead in working with Agricultural leaders to implement the vaccination clinic. Being an independent pharmacy authorized by the State to administer Covid-19 vaccines enabled the clinic to be more flexible in both the sign-up and implementation process, and the location at Rainbow Orchards reduced participant anxiety as well as access-to-care issues.
 Christa Campbell of Rainbow Orchards noted that the positive outcome of this grassroots service provided a model of cooperation with several diverse groups coming together for the good of the community. Christa is a firm believer that we all need to start from the bottom up and always strive to trust, value, and take better care of each other.
Key community partners included Dr. Barba, Family Medicine Specialist and Foundation Director of Marshall Hospital, who brought medical personnel to assist Robinsons Pharmacy staff. The Moderna vaccine was allocated through the EDC Emergency Operations Center. A host of community volunteers provided assistance with logistics. Nicholas Thomas, paramedic with El Dorado County Fire, provided medical support to the participants who each left fully vaccinated with one of Christa’s award-winning hot apple cider donuts for the road.
Noting the success of the operation, Boeger reiterated,
“Sometimes there's nothing more powerful or effective than good old fashioned local relationships. After struggling with a system that lacked the flexibility and nuance to address some disparities in vaccine distribution, we turned to our own farmers, friends and local leaders to roll up their sleeves and take action."
That level of cooperation is El Dorado County at its finest.
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