May 21, 2021
Maine CDC’s Public Health Nurses have been instrumental in Maine’s COVID-19 vaccination efforts – getting the vaccine to Mainers in remote communities and leveraging their roles as trusted health care providers to encourage vaccination and combat misinformation.
PHNs have continued bringing COVID-19 vaccinations to vulnerable populations by supporting on-site vaccination at the Cumberland County Jail CCJ. At the jail’s request, Maine CDC assigned two PHNs to work in collaboration with Westbrook EMS to administer the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine to both incarcerated people and jail staff on May 5.
In addition to administering COVID-19 vaccinations in county jails, PHNs have played a key role in workplace clinics that are part of Maine’s effort to “vaccinate people where they are.” On May 21, PHNs offered a COVID-19 vaccination clinic to employees and their family members at a large food processing plant in southern Maine.
Welcome Lynnda Parker, associate director for PHN
Maine CDC is pleased to welcome Lynnda Parker as the new associate director for PHN. Lynnda joined Maine CDC last week, bringing over 20 years of nursing experience, the last 14 of which were in community and public health settings. Most recently, she was the Chief of Clinical Services at the Oklahoma City-County Health Department, where she oversaw nurse-led public health clinics as well as other community health programs.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Lynnda worked as a Clinical Branch Director and Operations Section Chief for COVID-19 Testing and Vaccination efforts. In particular, she served as the project manager for her County’s COVID-19 Vaccination administration, serving a metropolitan area of approximately one million residents.
At Maine CDC, Lynnda oversees operations for PHN, applying her expertise to bolster Maine’s COVID-19 vaccination program as it pivots to an emphasis on smaller, community-based vaccine distribution.
Lynnda was born and raised in New Hampshire and received her Associates Degree in Nursing from Great Bay Community College in Portsmouth, NH, and her BSN at Granite State College in Concord, NH. While living in Oklahoma, Lynnda obtained her Master’s in Nursing with a concentration in Administration and Leadership.