Using hyperlocal strategies and local messengers, learn how vaccine champions improved COVID-19 and flu vaccination rates in Buffalo, NY. In the “Building Trust and Vaccine Access” episode ofREACHing for Vaccine Equity, get ideas on increasing vaccine access sustainability by creating systemic and local changes. Stan Martin, MM, a Senior Trainer and Office Director at CAI Global, and Ebony M. White, a Community Engagement Manager at Buffalo Center for Health Equity, discuss how they built vaccine confidence and amplified community voices through local messengers with lived experiences. Aiming to reach Black and African American and Hispanic/Latino communities, trusted community members went door-to-door to share tobacco cessation and pro-vaccination messages.
In this episode hosted by AIM iREACH project Public Health Consultant Dr. Yabo Beysolow:
- Get inspiration from the community leaders who had the courage to keep going and turn the healthcare system on its head.
- Hear about successful health promotion strategies, such as mobile units that delivered vaccines, as well as food and much needed supplies, to communities.
- Explore how building vaccine confidence affects health promotion and the patient-provider relationship.
- Learn how to use grassroots strategies to promote tobacco cessation and increase COVID-19 and flu vaccinations within at-risk communities.
About Stan
Stan Martin, MM, Buffalo Office Director and Senior Trainer at CAI, is a native of Buffalo, NY. He possesses over 20 years of experience in program planning, coordination, and implementation of community initiatives focused on tobacco control, chronic disease prevention, healthy eating, nutrition, optimal adolescent health, and vaccine hesitancy in historically oppressed and marginalized populations. In addition, Mr. Martin has expertise in building the capacity of community stakeholders to address the social determinants of health, utilization of community-based participatory research, collective impact, and population-based health strategies that promote systemic and policy change at every level, which lead to community transformation and social norm change.
He began his career at Prevention Focus as a Prevention Educator and later became the supervisor of the Teen Focus program. He later accepted a leadership position with the New York State Department of Health, where he served as the Western Regional Office, Youth Engagement Manager to advance tobacco-free communities in the eight surrounding counties of Western New York. Next, he worked at the Ministry of Health Promotion as a Health Promotion Consultant on the Smoke-Free Ontario strategy in Toronto, Ontario. He currently lives in Buffalo, NY, where he spends quality time with his family, pursues career interests, and contributes positively to his community.
About Ebony M. White
Ebony M. White is a native of Buffalo, NY. She is currently the Community Engagement Manager at the Buffalo Center for Health Equity. Ebony received her undergraduate degree from SUNY Empire State University with a focus on community health. She has served her community by supporting several initiatives for over ten years, providing leadership and inclusivity to improve the multifaceted healthcare disparities of black and brown communities.
Ms. White understands the region’s landscape and many systemic practices perpetuating the slow progress of achieving equitable living. She has established relationships with various community-based organizations, social support services, and healthcare entities for strategies that improve the navigation of the systems. She strives to be resourceful with all her partners that seek to improve education, access to healthcare, advocacy, and the importance of equity. For the last two years, she has raised community awareness, built rapport and trust, and established pertinent partnerships to address COVID-19/flu vaccine hesitancy.
Lastly, Ms. White is a trained Restorative Practitioner, Life Coach (Diabetes Prevention), Trauma Informed Care Facilitator, and Peer Leader (Chronic Disease Self-Management). All this training supports her community engagement efforts to promote disease prevention and capacity-building opportunities.
Connect and Links:
CAI Global
Buffalo Center for Health Equity
Project Website
Community Vaccine Champions
REACH Buffalo Facebook
About the Podcast:
REACHing for Vaccine Equity is a limited series podcast hosted by the iREACH team at the Association of Immunization Managers (AIM). This series of informative episodes discusses how individuals living with chronic health conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, clinical depression, and more, can continue to thrive with the preventative power of getting vaccinated and adopting healthy behaviors. Each episode will provide examples of vaccine equity initiatives for specific health conditions and share tips for community leaders on reaching and supporting diverse communities to achieve health and vaccine equity. Meet iREACH recipients who will share successful strategies they’ve used in their communities, their challenges, and the health inequities they are working to overcome.
AIM is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to establishing a nation free of vaccine-preventable diseases and eliminating health disparities. Visit our website ImmunizationManagers.org to get resources to help your community thrive. This podcast series is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. All episodes were recorded and produced in 2023.
