Celebrating Nurses Week: Northern Zone LPNs build on vaccination success

Sheila Rushton and Karen Newcomb are fine-tuning a new vaccination concept after their pilot project last year successfully tackled immunization gaps among Cumberland County’s Grade 12 students. 

Although the idea isn’t quite ready for primetime, the seasoned Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) in Northern Zone are eager to bring their plan to Public Health leadership for consideration. If the concept is anything like last year’s program, which helped spike human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations among Nova Scotia’s young people, chances are this iteration will be a hit. 

“It’s exciting to know two LPNs from a small town were able to come up with an idea that’s now being piloted at a provincial level,” says Karen, “and to be able to work hard and see it happen is so awesome.” 

Adds Sheila: “It’s so rewarding too, being able to vaccinate these students and get them protected.” 

Karen and Sheila are based in Amherst and have almost 30 years’ experience as LPNs. Both started working at Public Health on the same day in 2023 and immediately became fast friends. 

Their initial idea took shape when they noticed an uptick in students requesting immunization records and immunizations for post-secondary education applications.  

“We were getting many students asking for records and some needed their vaccinations updated. Because of the frequency of our clinics, we found we couldn’t vaccinate them fast enough,” Sheila says. 

Critically, they put forward an idea that involved meeting with students at high schools, educating them about the value of vaccinations, the ability to consent for themselves, how to access immunization records, and more. The LPNs got the thumbs-up from senior leadership and got to work. 

“We worked out the steps of what we would have to do, what it would involve, and progressed to getting the OK from Chignecto Central Regional Centre for Education schools and Nova Scotia Health,” Karen explains. 

The results meant students received up-to-date vaccinations, information about potential eligibility for additional vaccines and, for Public Health officials, a better view of immunization uptake among young people. More than 400 vaccines were administered in a matter of months. 

“It’s great to have that bond with the students,” Sheila points out. “When you see one of those Grade 12 students at the store, they know who you are, and they thank you for what you’ve done. Maybe it was just their last chicken pox vaccine you gave them; however, it gave them trust in us.”  

Going into the schools, Karen says, keeps young people in their comfort zones, ensuring they don’t have to go far to find clinics or vaccine-related information. “Being able to offer these vaccines to them free of charge is also important,” she notes. 

Karen and Sheila credit the efforts of all Public Health team members, from immunization crews on the frontlines to the senior communications advisor preparing creative marketing. “We have a whole team that helps us,” Karen says. 

In light of their success in Northern Zone, Public Health received funding from the Urban Public Health Network for a multi-phased project that would include a robust HPV awareness campaign, and expansion to more schools across the province. The project also captured national attention at the recent Canadian Immunization Conference in Ottawa, where Karen and Sheila presented the plan and its positive outcomes.  

They point out the combined immunization rates for vaccines like meningitis B, HPV, COVID-19 and others, doubled among Cumberland County students in the last year. It’s a measurement other health zones have noticed and are eager to achieve as they launch the pilot in their schools this spring. 

“We’re just thankful for having willing partners who, like us, shared the same high-level goal,” Sheila says, “and that was for this to succeed, which I believe it has.” 

Photo of (L-R) Karen Newcomb and Sheila Rushton, licensed practical nurses in Cumberland County.