1812Blockhouse, OhioHealth
An OhioHealth program with a Mansfield presence has been awarded a substantial grant to assist in boosting mobile vaccine services.
OhioHealth Community Health Partnerships and Wellness on Wheels was recently awarded a $1 million Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) grant, allowing the healthcare system to expand mobile vaccine services.
“These funds will be helpful to OhioHealth as we continue to focus on increasing vaccination rates in targeted populations, especially where vaccine hesitancy is higher than expected,” said Karen Morrison, OhioHealth senior VP of external affairs and president of the OhioHealth Foundation. “Using our mobile unit, we will continue to travel to communities and neighborhoods where our community outreach team will provide education and easy access to vaccinations for individuals who chose to receive them.”
The Wellness on Wheels (WOW) Vaccine Program begin in February 2021 with the Hilltop YMCA partnership. The primary objective of the program has been to improve access for underserved healthcare regions and Community of Color (CoC) patients.
Through July 2021, the WOW mobile unit has provided vaccines at 62 clinics and has given 1,632 total shots, with 734 patients completing their vaccine series. Nearly 70 percent of WOW’s first dose patients have come from a CoC demographic.
Currently WOW holds weekly clinics at the Hilltop YMCA, Directions for Youth (Southeast Columbus) and Westland High School. WOW has also provided pop up events and weekend clinics at:
- Columbus Urban League
- Friendship Baptist Church
- Franklin County Courthouse
- United Way/Mansfield Friendly House Community Center
- Rhema Christian Center
- Prairie Township
- Westerville Asian Family Festival
“I am proud of this award as it affirms confidence in the team’s expertise and success in efficiently activating mobile health clinics,” said Morrison.
OhioHealth is grateful to Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, who supported the grant request.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
