Katie Van Tornhout | Founder
Callie Cares
Katie Van Tornhout is the founder of Callie Cares, a not-for-profit organization founded in 2010 that supports parents with hospitalized children and raises awareness about the seriousness of whooping cough (pertussis) and the importance of routine immunizations for pregnant people and children. Katie became a vaccine advocate after her 37-day-old daughter passed away from whooping cough. Callie was too young to be vaccinated herself and came into contact with someone unknowingly carrying the virus. Katie wanted to somehow keep Callie's spirit alive and that is when she and her husband created Callie Cares. To date, they have donated over 30,000 toiletry bags to hospitals in 17 states. Through Callie Cares, Katie also frequently works with local public health officials to bring vaccine clinics to her community. Katie is your average small town, working mom who spends all of her free time raising awareness for the Tdap booster. She has appeared on Good Morning America, CNN, CBS News with Katie Couric, along with countless radion interviews and is even acknowledged in Dr. Richard Bessers book "Tell Me The Truth Doctor." She was awarded the 2015 CDC Childhood Immunization Champion Award for her significant contributions to public health through her work in childhood immunizations.
Appearances:
Main Congress Day 3 - 24th April @ 11:30
Panel: Building trust from the ground up: tackling vaccine education and access from the community level
- Trusted messenger perspectives – community health workers and patient advocates
- Training trusted messengers – Vaccination Community Navigator program and SQUAD program
- Policy aspects – Community Health Workers Access Act
- Funding support for vaccine centers
- Recognizing the role of P/CHWs in the healthcare system; workforce development
- Community-level activation to address misinformation, education, and access
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