Photo By Staff Sgt. Oriana White | Spc. Ryan Whispell, a combat medic assigned to Company C, 328th Brigade Support...... read more read more
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LANCASTER, Pa. – Spc. Ryan Whispell, a combat medic assigned to Company C, 328th Brigade Support Battalion, 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division, has lived in Lancaster, Pennsylvania since 2016. But you’d never guess that the friendly Georgia native wasn’t born and raised in Lancaster County.
For one thing, Whispell knows a large percentage of the people coming through the expansive COVID-19 vaccination clinic, located in a vacant wing of the Park City Mall in Lancaster City, Pa. Around him, the clinic floor is a seamless dance of bustling volunteers, site organizers, and military personnel all working together to provide vaccinations for approximately 6000 people per day, and Whispell is proud to be a part of the efforts here.
“Before I began this mission with the National Guard, I was working locally in retail part-time,” he said. “I think a lot of people know me from there.”
Whispell began state active-duty orders in December of 2020 to support vaccination efforts across the Commonwealth. Now, the outgoing, energetic young Soldier is getting the chance to support his local community by administering the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines at his local mall.
“I’ve already seen 12 people come through here that I know in the last three days. Some of them see me in the distance and just wave, but I’ve had at least five friends come up to say hi,” Whispell said with a chuckle. “They’re definitely surprised to see me here administering vaccines.”
The 20-year-old medic joined the Pennsylvania Army National Guard straight out of high school in order to gain his Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certification.
“I’m pursuing a career in the fire service as a full-time firefighter and I needed my EMT certification for that,” he said. “I heard there was a good opportunity to get medical training through the military and it sounded really interesting.”
In the last two years, Whispell has taken every opportunity to chase his goal of becoming a professional firefighter. He takes technical classes in his spare time and volunteers as a part-time firefighter for Lancaster City.
When Whispell first joined the Army National Guard, he said he didn’t realize the National Guard is so active when it comes to supporting the state and local community during times of need.
“I jumped in and never realized the larger scope of what we do or how proactive we are,” said Whispell. “As a combat medic, we’re trained to treat gunshot wounds and other battlefield injuries, but instead we’re here today vaccinating people that I literally live my daily life with. It’s pretty cool.”
Whispell said he’s vaccinated approximately 150 people since his mission at the Lancaster clinic began on Apr.12, and in the past 5 months, he has administered close to 1000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Everyone I’ve talked to has been really impressed with the set-up here. They’re really happy to get their vaccines because hopefully it’s the next step towards getting back to normal,” he said. “I can tell that getting the vaccine is brightening up everyone’s day a little bit. It means we’re getting closer to being done with this pandemic.”
| Date Taken: | 04.15.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 04.23.2021 11:03 |
| Story ID: | 394372 |
| Location: | LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 150 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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