Long-standing systemic health and social inequities have put many people from racial and ethnic minority groups at increased risk of getting sick and dying from COVID-19.
This is true both nationally as well as here in the Puget Sound area. Our mission – to improve the health and well-being of each person we serve – doesn’t confine Swedish to the four walls of our hospitals and clinics. Early on in the pandemic, we set up our mobile Community Response Clinics to aid in testing for those most vulnerable and effected by COVID-19.
With two vaccines in market, and hope on the horizon to beat the pandemic, we’re once again going mobile to help the underserved and vulnerable populations in our area thanks to our partnerships with CellNetix Pathology & Laboratories, T-Mobile and Denali.
In order to select the sites, we looked at the percentage of people tested and the percentage of people that tested positive for COVID-19 by zip code. Looking at that data, hot spots in our area were identified. Based on the hot spots, we started outreach and vaccine education and now we’re setting up the mobile clinic at community organizations to vaccinate those who are eligible in the current phasing.
To prevent the spread of COVID-19, we must work together to ensure that people have resources to maintain and manage their physical and mental health, and we are grateful for our partners coming together to make this mobile clinic a reality.
Swedish
“Although we’re on pause at our mass vaccination clinic at Seattle U, it is imperative for us to prioritize a portion of our weekly vaccine allotment to support the most vulnerable in the Puget Sound area,” said Dr. Wako, COO of Swedish First Hill and the operational lead for the mobile clinic. “This is our mission, and we’re honored to continue the fight against COVID-19.”
CellNetix
“We’re grateful to serve our community by assisting with such an urgent public health need through our partnership with Swedish, T-Mobile and Denali,” said Kathleen Fondren, CEO of CellNetix. “Excellence in patient care is our mission, and with our community partners we hope to help accomplish that with greater opportunities and access for people to get vaccinated.”
T-Mobile
“T-Mobile is proud to partner with Swedish and use our network for such a great program here in Seattle to provide the connectivity needed to bring this potentially life-saving mobile COVID-19 vaccination clinic to underserved communities,” said Mike Sievert, CEO of T-Mobile. “This mobile clinic is offering a critical service to our community by ensuring low-income and minority populations have equal access to the COVID-19 vaccines and providing them the hope and opportunity to begin recovering from the impacts of this pandemic. We are incredibly pleased to support this important effort.”
Denali
“We are proud to partner with Swedish to expedite and enable the administration of vaccines in our community,” said Denali Founder and CEO, Majdi Daher. “It is essential for us to be part of building a mobile solution so our local medical professionals can reach those who are most at risk.”
