Vaccinating the majority of the population against COVID-19 is a historic challenge. It’s also proving to be a significant learning experience and service opportunity for nearly 400 students and faculty members from Wayne State University’s Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, College of Nursing, and School of Medicine. In partnership with the Detroit Health Department and Henry Ford Health System, Wayne State students have spent the last five weeks volunteering more than 2,100 hours to administer COVID-19 vaccines directly to Detroit’s most vulnerable populations, including the residents and staffs at homeless shelters, nursing homes and senior apartment complexes.

Wayne State University’s Campus Health Center has welcomed a social worker to its staff of health care professionals and will expand its services to provide students with access to mental health screenings and services. The changes come as the Campus Health Center furthers its commitment to be a convenient, one-stop shop for students’ physical and mental health needs.

The pandemic may have slowed activities at homes and at some businesses, but that’s not the case on Wayne State’s campus. University personnel have maintained an expeditious pace over the last several months, implementing protocols to address the ever-changing needs brought on by the pandemic while continuing important infrastructure updates throughout campus.

The Wayne State University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Sciences has teamed with the State of Michigan to develop a comprehensive behavioral and mental health training and support program for the state’s first responders and their families to address the stress they face in their duties protecting residents. The program, Frontline Strong Together, will be available electronically and in-person to first responders and their families in nearly all of Michigan’s 83 counties this year.