Intermountain Health Partners with Community to Help Pacific Islanders with Immunizations, Wellness

Utah is home to the largest per capita population of Pacific Islanders in the continental United States. Pacific Islanders are excelling in every sector of Utah society, but some challenges and disparities persist — such as with vaccination rates in children and adolescents.

Intermountain Health is partnering with the Utah Pacific Islander Health Coalition to assist families in getting their children immunized and have helped created this community event to help families with their immunizations.

“We are excited to connect with the community on health overall and the key role that early childhood immunizations play in protecting children,” said Neal Davis, MD, senior medical director of pediatrics for Intermountain Health.

“The Protect Our Kids Pacific Islander Family Wellness Tailgate” event will feature health promoting messages and important wellness related resources into a fun, familiar context that is welcoming, family-friendly, and community-centered to help families and children be as healthy as possible.

The event will take place on Saturday, June 15 from 10 am to 2 pm at LaVell Edwards Stadium on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. Attendees can go to the Cougar Club Parking Lot #4.

This family-oriented vaccination event will also include an outdoor health fair format featuring information tables, activity stations, an “Ask a Doctor” booth, and music and entertainment from a Utah County-based Polynesian performing arts group.

Pacific Islander community health workers have been tirelessly raising awareness about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines and have created a “Protect Our Kids” slogan to support this.

Regular well-child visits should include reviewing important immunizations required for school enrollment and are a good time to complete medical forms required for some school activities.

Vaccines are also available from your local health department. If a patient doesn’t have insurance, the Vaccines for Children Program is available to those who qualify.

The mission of the Utah Pacific Islander Health Coalition is to reduce health disparities and increase access to affordable and culturally responsive wellness services for Utah Pacific Islanders.

Intermountain Health supports numerous community health efforts throughout the state of Utah and its six state service area. For more information, click here.

About Intermountain Health

Headquartered in Utah with locations in six states and additional operations across the western U.S., Intermountain Health is a nonprofit system of 34 hospitals, 400 clinics, medical groups with some 4,600 employed physicians and advanced care providers, a health plans division called Select Health with more than one million members, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is committed to improving community health and is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs. For more information or updates, see https://intermountainhealthcare.org/news.