Jill Read, a pediatric nurse practitioner at Castleton Family Health Center has been recognized as Vermont’s 2015 Childhood Immunization Champion by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Each year, during National Infant Immunization Week (April 18 – 25, 2015) the CDC Foundation and CDC honor health professionals around the country who go above and beyond to promote immunization among children in their communities. Vermont’s 2015 Immunization Champion is Jill Read.
Read has worked as a pediatric nurse practitioner at Castleton Family Health Center since 2005. In the past decade, she has earned a reputation as the “go-to” person for immunization questions among staff in her office. She is dedicated to educating families about vaccines, and has developed trusting relationships with her clients. In addition, she is highly respected by peers for her vaccine expertise.
“Jill has a contagious enthusiasm and conviction about the efficacy and safety of vaccines that is not only demonstrated by her patient’s high vaccination rates, but also by the respect that her peers have for her,” said Melissa Richards, a public health nurse for the Health Department’s Rutland District office.
In addition to seeing patients, Read is currently collaborating with the Health Department on a quality improvement project with the goal of increasing the percentage of children that are fully vaccinated at her practice.
She clearly understands the risk of not vaccinating children, not only to them, but to the community as well. To see Read’s full profile on the CDC’s website, and to learn more about CDC’s Childhood Immunization Champion Award program, please visit http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/champions