A single cough or sneeze can send more than 100,000 infectious particles into the air. In a matter of seconds, those tiny, contagious germs transmitted from one individual can have a devastating impact on an entire community. Such was the case in 1991, when a German measles outbreak in the Amish community infected hundreds of unvaccinated children and adults in Pennsylvania. At the time, families in Lancaster County, Pa. had no public health department to rely on and needed to quickly vaccinate as many as 5,000 children to prevent the outbreak from continuing to spread.

Lancaster General Hospital, now a part of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, answered the community’s call for help, quickly partnering with Amish bishops and local fire companies to provide free immunizations in remote areas of Lancaster County.