Philadelphia Housing Authority and Temple University’s College of Public Health Deliver COVID-19 Vaccines in High-Risk Neighborhoods
Philadelphia, PA- March 22, 2021 – The Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) and Temple University’s College of Public Health have launched a ground-breaking initiative to vaccinate residents in high-risk, lower-income neighborhoods against COVID-19.
In recent weeks, faculty and fully trained nursing student volunteers from Temple University’s College of Public Health and the School of Pharmacy have participated in clinics set up to vaccinate residents at PHA’s senior living locations.
“We are grateful to Temple for the resources invested in our PHA communities,” said, PHA president and CEO Kelvin A. Jeremiah. “The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare inequities in the healthcare system.
Working alongside PHA residents, PHA and Temple are developing strategies for culturally responsive healthcare that centers on a community’s unique needs. This new model makes residents and healthcare workers partners in improving health outcomes and ensuring all residents have access and opportunity to convenient care that best suits their needs.”
“We are the agents that put the needle in the arm, but what makes this successful is the collaboration with the residents of the community,” says Temple Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs and Interprofessional Education Susan VonNessen-Scanlin. “Service to the community is central to the College of Public Health’s mission, and we feel so honored to be able to partner with PHA, be welcomed into our local communities, and be part of the solution to ending this pandemic.”
