Lancaster Physician Summer 2021 - 9

SUMMER 2021
A southwest Lancaster City community member receives his vaccination at
the pop-up clinic held at Bright Side Opportunities Center. He was one of
500 people to get vaccinated in just five hours.
" We continue to identify and address gaps in
vaccine access throughout the county, " she said.
" The trusted relationships that we've established
with our community partners over the years
have enabled us to spread the word about the
vaccine and to bring the vaccine to those that
they serve in their neighborhood. "
Many of LG Health's efforts initially focused
on reaching residents of Lancaster City. In
March, a partnership between LG Health and
HDC MidAtlantic brought a vaccine clinic to
Ruoff Towers, a subsidized residential facility
for people who are older than age 62 or have
a disability. More than 100 residents were
vaccinated at the clinic.
LG Health has partnered with churches
and schools to offer additional vaccination
opportunities in the city. A clinic at the Bright
Side Opportunities Center gave 500 vaccines
in just five hours. Another, at Carter & MacRae
Elementary School, focused on vaccinating
children ages 12 to 15, shortly after the Pfizer
vaccine was approved for that age group.
These and other LG Health vaccine clinics
offer evening and weekend hours to increase
convenient access for people who are working or
in school. Many of the clinics have a celebratory
air, as friends and neighbors reunite while getting
vaccinated at a church or community center.
After being isolated for a long period of time
during the pandemic, coming together again
creates a hopeful and optimistic atmosphere.
In April, LG Health partnered with Church
World Service to hold a vaccination clinic for
more than 80 refugees and immigrants from
countries including Guatemala, Burma, El
Salvador, Nepal, and the Democratic Republic
of the Congo. Refugees, especially those who
have recently arrived in the community, face
multiple challenges in getting vaccinated,
including language and cultural barriers, as well
as misinformation about the vaccine.
Refugees also are generally at a higher risk for
COVID-19 exposure, due to multiple factors.
For example, refugees may be more likely to live
as part of larger, multigenerational families and
work in lower-paying jobs in essential industries,
where implementing COVID-19 precautions
may be challenging.
LG Health has also focused its vaccination
efforts on the 35,000 members of the local Plain
community. Education is an important part
of those efforts, which include placing vaccine
information in Amish publications and on flyers
LANCASTER 9 PHYSICIAN
distributed at mud sales and Amish stores, as
well as a telephone educational event featuring
two physicians.
It is difficult to determine for sure how many
in the Plain community have been vaccinated,
Yoder said. However, LG Health knows from
a longstanding history of working with the
Plain community that in general, they may be
less likely to emphasize prevention or get any
type of vaccine.
In May, two walk-in vaccination clinics in
southern Lancaster County - one at a fire
company and another at a community center
- aimed to increase access for members of the
Plain and rural communities, farm workers, and
other area residents who were ready to receive
the vaccine.
" Our pop-up vaccination clinics are all about
meeting people where they are and providing
them with the opportunity to get vaccinated
in a place that is familiar and comfortable for
them, " Yoder said. " We will keep working to
make getting vaccinated as convenient as possible
for everyone in our community. "
Lancaster Physician Summer 2021

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