Editor's note: This story was originally published in Health Care Headliners, a magazine meant to introduce the community to the people making a big difference in local health care. The doctors honored in the magazine come from nominations accepted by VEGAS INC.
As executive director of Immunize Nevada, Heidi Parker leads and engages a diverse coalition — staff, volunteers, member organizations and funders – who share a common passion: providing access to vaccines and preventive healthcare across Nevada’s rural, urban and frontier communities.
Under Parker’s leadership, Immunize Nevada has been deeply involved in community outreach, collaborative projects and fundraising efforts aimed at helping close the ‘vaccination gap’ in Nevada. Parker lost her best friend to hepatitis when she was in elementary school. This, together with the death of her great-grandfather in the Influenza Pandemic of 1918, is what motivates her to ensure that no one suffers from a vaccine-preventable disease.
The past year has seen Parker and her group educate the state on important health issues pertaining to immunizations through outreach and collaboration. Most recently, she was on the forefront of the educational campaign on measles. As part of those efforts, she and her team developed a web page to address frequently asked questions, debunk myths about the illness, and offer information on where to go for medical assistance and more.
Parker has also focused on educating Nevadans about immunizing against human papillomavirus, using her personal experience as both an HPV survivor and mother of a fully vaccinated teenager to increase awareness.
“It’s cliché, but there’s no ‘i’ in ‘team,’” Parker said. “I once had someone tell me the reason they appreciate working with me is because my attitude is not about what I can achieve, it’s about what Nevada can achieve. I believe we will achieve great things because of the passion of everyone I work with, every day, across the state.”
In 2014, Immunize Nevada celebrated its first year as an incorporated Nevada 501c3 nonprofit. “After a 19-year evolution from a volunteer-led organization, fiscal sponsorship for its first paid employee and eventually growing to a team of eight, it was incredible to see our first-year success as a nonprofit and the difference we've been able to make with our 501c3 designation,” she said.
A continuing challenge has been communicating the importance of vaccinating amid measles and whooping cough outbreaks, severe influenza seasons, the Hepatitis A recall of berries and more, she said. “Our role in promoting health is to ensure the public has credible, current and useful information so that our immunizing partners can focus on doing what they do best: preventing disease.”
Plenty of work remains for the rest of 2015 and beyond, she said. Nevada's rates for HPV vaccination are “extremely low, leaving thousands of our sons and daughters vulnerable to HPV-associated cancers as adults. My personal goal, and our goal at Immunize Nevada, is to educate parents about the importance of this vaccine, help them move past concerns about sexual promiscuity and increase rates so that we can prevent cancer and become an HPV-free NV.”
Parker is well aware that it will take substantial amounts of time, energy and resources to achieve the target rate – 80 percent -- of Nevada's teens having completed the HPV vaccination series. “Being true to our battle-born roots, our team embodies that get-it-done spirit, and we’ll tackle this challenge much like we’ve tackled others.”
The group has also opened a new office in Las Vegas, and is looking forward to having a daily presence in southern Nevada. “This office will enable our team to provide support and resources to our public health partners,” Parker said, “as well as increase our community outreach and education efforts.”
Building a student volunteer program is a major goal for this office, as well as having an inviting space for community partners to visit. “We’re excited for the possibilities that are ahead.”