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EMKA sets up „Vaccination Centre for one Day“


At EMKA, the health of all its employees has top priority, especially now during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, 60 employees were vaccinated against the coronavirus at the company headquarters in Velbert as part of a voluntary vaccination campaign. In addition, our dedicated colleague Jennifer Römpke defied all obstacles and organised a „pop-up vaccination centre“.

Although Germany has exemplary medical care compared to other countries, the Robert Koch Institute now counts over 4 million infected people since the beginning of the pandemic. With its in-house vaccination campaign, EMKA offered its employees an alternative to the sometimes long waiting times in the country’s vaccination centres. The aim was to contribute actively to break the chains of infection. The HR department and the Works Council came up with the idea, and Ms  ­Jennifer ­Römpke took the lead in organising the project.

With the help of the Works Council, a flash survey of employees showed a great interest in the vaccination offer. Ms Römpke initially looked for company doctors willing to vaccinate, talked to authorities and institutes, but no one could offer her a solution at first. After many telephone calls, however, the vaccine, a cold chain and a doctor, Dr Jochen Brandenburg, who was enthusiastic about the campaign, were organised. 

Now, the team around ­Jennifer Römpke got prepared for implementing the vaccinations. Maintenance officer Mark Jakob made EMKA’s display room with all the necessary furnishings available. Cihat Kusu helped set up a pop-up vaccination centre, and Mike Wortmann, the head of the Assembly Department, supervised the layout and construction of two vaccination booths. In the end, an EMKA-owned vaccination centre was created. Dr Jochen Brandenburg, an ear, nose and throat physician, was enthusiastic about the professionalism of the set-up and procedure.

The first and second vaccinations were implemented on Fridays to cure any potential side effects over the weekend. But according to the employees‘ statements, they all tolerated the ­Biontech/Pfizer vaccine well. Ms Jennifer Römpke was able to draw a positive conclusion: “At the beginning, I actually neglected the organisational work for the entire campaign, but the support of many colleagues spurred me on. Besides, I love the challenge, and I like organising and then for a good cause like this – in the end, the effort and the return were absolutely worth it.”

EMKA would like to thank the dedicated organisers, Dr Jochen Brandenburg and, first and foremost, Ms Jennifer Römpke, for the exemplary implementation of this unique project.