LYNN — The Lynn Community Health Center (LCHC) reached a milestone this past weekend, administering 100,000 doses of the COVID‐19 vaccine to members of the community.
With a mission to provide comprehensive, high‐quality care to all regardless of their ability to pay, LCHC has been distributing COVID-19 vaccines to any community members eligible for more than two years.
“We are thrilled to have administered 100,000 doses of the COVID‐19 vaccine to our diverse patient and community population,” said LCHC CEO Dr. Kiame Mahaniah. “Our team adapted and innovated amidst this unprecedented crisis and rose to each challenge we faced, working tirelessly to ensure equitable access to the vaccine.”
LCHC received its first shipment of COVID‐19 vaccine doses on Dec. 22, 2020 and started vaccinating eligible staff members the next day.
By February 2021, LCHC formed a partnership with the City of Lynn and the Lynn Department of Public Health to open a mass vaccination site at the Lynn Technical Vocational Institute Field House. During the peak of the pandemic, LCHC distributed vaccines to more than 6,000 patients per week.
LCHC also partnered with local and state authorities and other healthcare providers to ensure that vaccines were distributed equitably and efficiently while reaching underserved populations.
“We could not have reached this milestone without the support of our community partners,” said LCHC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Geoff Pechinsky. “We are proud to be part of this effort to protect our community and ensure that all community members have access to information and vaccination if they desire.”
In another effort to spread information and provide support regarding the vaccines, LCHC formed a multilingual, multicultural, and multidisciplinary community‐engagement team that ran a mobile vaccination program and distributed nearly 3,000 vaccines.
LCHC said this team spent more than 1,000 hours educating, encouraging, and supporting community members in making their COVID‐19 vaccine decision, while also conducting door‐to‐door canvassing and tabling at businesses and events.
“We know that access to information and language can be a significant barrier for many in our community, so we made it a priority to provide information in multiple languages and to have interpreters on hand to help those who need it,” said LCHC Chief Operating Officer Kimberly Eng. “We are committed to providing care to all members of our community, regardless of language, income, or background.”
Eng credited the health center’s equitable distribution to the community outreach program, phone calls and texts from a variety of sources, and its pre‐existing relationships with patients.
For more information about LCHC and its services, please visit www.LynnCHC.org.
