South Dakota nurse provides care to isolated communities, increases immunization rate 90%

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Kudos to Kerri Lutjens RN providing culturally appropriate care to South Dakota Hutterite's religious groups in isolated farming communities, increasing immunization rate from 13% to 90% in just 2 years!... ROCK ON. Karen

Found at Philadelphia Inquirer:

South Dakota nurse embeds in colony life to transform care

KEVIN BURBACH, The Associated Press

Posted: Tuesday, August 18, 2015, 7:07 AM

OLIVET, S.D. (AP) - A spaghetti dinner with people in prairie dress and a church service in German is all in a day's work for Kerri Lutjens.

The 33-year-old nurse, who doesn't speak German, has spent the past few years gaining the trust of several communities of Hutterites, a deeply religious people with ancestral ties to the Amish who live in insular farming communities in the Plains, Upper Midwest and Canada.

Although she provides a broad range of care to the eight South Dakota Hutterite colonies she serves, Lutjens has paid particular attention to vaccinating children in these communities and preventing outbreaks like one in Ohio last year in which 383 people, most of them unvaccinated Amish, got the measles.

In the first seven colonies that welcomed Lutjens, the combined rate of children with up-to-date vaccinations has gone from about 13 percent since she started administering vaccines in 2013 to well over 90 percent today. Her work hasn't gone unnoticed: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently lauded Lutjens' vaccination success, noting the cultural sensitivity she has shown along the way....

Read more at South Dakota nurse embeds in colony life to transform care

[Party_of_five, BSN]

Wow! Really inspiring. Thanks for sharing.

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

I rad this on medscape yesterday- what a great story. What I didn't get is if she is an advanced practice nurse or not. Anyone know?

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

SD BON has license listed as RN only.

More to the story:

CDC Honors Parkston Nurse With Childhood Immunization Champion Award

PIERRE, S.D. -

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is honoring Kerri Lutjens, RN as a 2015 Childhood Immunization Champion. CDC presents the annual awards to recognize individuals making outstanding efforts to ensure that children in their communities are fully immunized against 14 preventable diseases before the age of two. The awards are announced in conjunction with National Infant Immunization Week, April 18-25.

Lutjens is a nurse at Avera St. Benedict's in Parkston who works as the visiting nurse for seven Hutterite colonies in the area. She visits the colonies biweekly to deliver a variety of health care services, including administering immunizations.

Kerri is a true advocate for childhood immunizations. Whether sending reminders to parents that their kids are due for vaccination or organizing a back to school program to evaluate records, she is always working to make sure children in the colonies are current on their vaccinations,” said Tim Heath, immunization coordinator for the Department of Health

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

SD BON has license listed as RN only.

I'm guessing public health is her area of practice. What a rock star!