South Washington County Schools nurse Tara Goebel was named Minnesota’s 2024 Immunization Champion by the Minnesota Department of Health. She was recognized for “her incredible effort and leadership in increasing immunization rates in children,” according to a news release.

“Tara has demonstrated incredible leadership and care for students and her community,” said Jessica Hancock-Allen, director of the Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Prevention and Control Division at MDH. “She has used her passion to partner and collaborate with key partners to provide better access to vaccinations and protect the health of students in her school district from vaccine-preventable diseases.”

District 833 saw a plunge in immunization rates during the COVID-19 pandemic. Goebel, who also serves a health services coordinator, and her team contacted every family in the district urging needed vaccinations. They organized immunization clinics district-wide. With about 4,000 students receiving vaccines the measles, mumps and rubella immunization rate increased from 84.8 percent to 93.4 percent for kindergartners.

“Tara’s relationship with families in the school community was key to the success of these outreach and access activities to increase immunization rates,” said Emily Robb, a colleague from the Washington County Department of Public Health and Environment. “What sets her apart from others is that she understood how to leverage the trust and sense of connection that many families have with their schools to help students access needed vaccines to protect them against preventable diseases.”

Each year, the national Immunization Champion Awards honor just one person in Minnesota for their exceptional work in encouraging immunization for children or adults in their community. The Immunization Champion Award was presented to Tara by the Association of Immunization Managers.