WIRES Program

USF Health College of Nursing has partnered with Port Tampa Bay and the Tampa Port Ministries to provide on-site immediate physical care to global seafarers and port employees with the help of USF College of Nursing nurse practitioner faculty.

In addition to physicals, the team will work to provide wellness education to help increase the health and safety of the Tampa Port community. College faculty will add content to the curriculum for nursing students regarding the special needs of seafarers.

Through this partnership, USF College of Nursing has been able to provide more than 1,100 COVID-19 vaccines to seafarers from across the globe. Vaccines are administered by a part-time adjunct faculty member. We have vaccinated seafarers from: Philippines, Sri Lanka, India, Ukraine, Columbia, Honduras, Guatemala, Bulgaria, Russia, Myanmar, Cuba, Mexico, Montenegro, Turkey, Georgia, China, Poland, Croatia, Latvia, Austria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Portugal, Vietnam, Ethiopia, United States of America, Greece, Lebanon, Nigeria, Romania, and Indonesia.

Port Tampa Bay and the Tampa Port Ministries is pleased to announce a collaboration with the University of South Florida College of Nursing to establish the firstof-its-kind on-site clinic.