Weill Cornell students and staff ready to administer vaccines with Community Healthcare Network in Jamaica, Queens, NYC
During a recent meeting, Jennifer Tiffany, executive director of Cornell University Cooperative Extension-New York City (CUCE-NYC), learned that 70 students from Weill Cornell Medicine were trained and certified to administer COVID-19 vaccinations, but were only available on weekends and evenings.
“The offer of a cadre of medical students able to administer vaccines couldn’t have happened at a better moment,” said Tiffany, whose organization helps to lead community engagement work at Weill Cornell Medicine’s Clinical and Translational Sciences Center (CTSC).
Finding a place for the students to help was the challenge, so Tiffany contacted the Rev. Patrick O’Connor, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Jamaica, Queens, and Bob Hayes, executive director of the Community Healthcare Network, which has been working to administer vaccines and ensure equitable access. Both O’Connor and Hayes are part of the Tree of Life Center network, of which CUCE-NYC is a founding member.
The following Saturday, the students and the CTSC staff supporting them were on site in Jamaica, Queens setting up a vaccine clinic that, within five hours, would administer all 176 doses allocated to the Community Healthcare Network.
“It was a resounding success,” said Jeff Zhu, CTSC’s managing director of community engagement and research. The success, he said, was due to the strong existing organizational partnerships, the community context and Cornell Cooperative Extension’s ability to make quick connections between organizations with shared interests.
Though vaccinations were given by appointment, walk-ins trickled in throughout the day.
“We would call those who missed their appointments to determine if we could fill their spot with someone on the waitlist. Most of those who were vaccinated from the waitlist were community members who worked within the church or at the stores across the street,” said Allegra Keeler, research assistant at the CTSC, who helped staff the clinic as part of the CTSC’s community engagement team. “Rev. O’Connor contributed immensely with outreach and many patients told us that they were referred to the vaccination clinic through him.”
The students plan to hold future events at sites in underserved communities throughout New York City.
