Mass General Brigham Hospital distributed COVID-19 vaccines out of a community care van at Kiley Park on Friday from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
The van provided the Pfizer vaccine, care kits, and blood pressure screenings. These events will be open to all, including those who lack insurance.
On the company’s website, MD Tom Sequist, Mass General’s chief patient experience and equity officer, said that when it comes to health care inequities, it is “essential that we build stronger ties to the communities that could use our support.”
“These vans are helping us to bring resources directly to the people that need them most and are removing some of the barriers to health care that many face,” he said.
There will be three dates for which the van will be in Lynn, including the site at Kiley Park, with one scheduled for Friday, July 29, at Marshall Middle School from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., and another on Saturday, July 30, at the Lynn Latino Festival from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Other community care sites will include Peabody, Chelsea, Salem, Revere, Charlestown, Everett, and Boston. Overall, there will be 17 clinics available. The clinics are “weather dependent,” since they will be outside.
Sarah Corbett, a family nurse practitioner at Mass General said it’s a part of the company’s mission to meet people in their communities to allow easier access to medical resources.
“We have the capacity to meet whatever demand that covers the van,” she said. “We have enough supply to ensure we do not run out.”
The van has been in operation for over a year, bringing medical services and tools to communities and has expanded the arrangement of services to now provide diabetes control, blood pressure control, and substance abuse treatment.
Maureen Kay, the operations manager, said they were not expecting a large outcome due to the heat, but wanted to be there to make sure citizens knew about the site and services they offer.
“Regardless of the heat, we want to show people that we are here to help them so they may take advantage of all the services we have to offer in the future.”
The Kraft Center at the hospital is helping to leverage the new vans, as they are in the process of planning rapid testing sites in the heavily-trafficked areas of Lynn, Chelsea, Revere, Everett, and Charlestown, according to the hospital website. Locations will depend on partnerships with local organizations, but will be within proximity of schools, food pantries, water surveillance hotspots, and housing complexes.
The next site will be at the Citizens Inn and Food Haven Pantry in Peabody on Tuesday, July 26 from noon to 2:00 p.m.
Rachel Galatis can be reached at [email protected].
