The Ascension St. Agnes COVID-19 Vaccine Team and Health Institute in southwest Baltimore has administered 30,000 COVID-19 vaccinations in 13 months from Dec. 17, 2020, to January 2022.
Baltimore residents, including first responders; the elderly; people with chronic diseases; and members of the African American, Latino and Korean communities, received one or both shots and/or a booster from Ascension St. Agnes.
Partnerships with the Archdiocese of Baltimore and other numerous community organizations were key to providing health care access to the community and overcoming vaccination hesitancy, according to hospital representatives.
Dawn O’Neill, vice president of population health at Ascension St. Agnes, said healthcare is a challenge in southwest Baltimore.
“We wanted to make sure we opened our doors and went into the community where individuals needed access to the vaccine,” she noted.
Early in the pandemic, Ascension St. Agnes received some calls from the archdiocese regarding partnerships.
“We were really excited about using church facilities and places where people trust to set up vaccination clinics,” she said.
A series of vaccination clinics took place at Catholic Charities institutions, including My Brother’s Keeper in Irvington, St. Elizabeth Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in West Baltimore and at one Head Start and Early Head Start program.
According to O’Neill, the trust built with the community of My Brother’s Keeper allowed Ascension St. Agnes to provide some acute care services and primary care services. The site also became one of the hospital’s most active vaccination sites.
O’Neill hailed William J. McCarthy Jr., executive director of Catholic Charities, as “terrific supporter. He came out to many of our events and showed great support for the work that we were doing.”
Other vaccination clinics took place at facilities and nursing homes supported by the motherhouse of the Oblate Sisters of Providence in southwest Baltimore, the Little Sisters of the Poor in Baltimore and the Daughters of Charity in Emmitsburg.
Arif Khazi, director of post-acute services at Ascension St. Agnes, said that when the vaccine was first available, there was a huge population that wanted the vaccine and had been waiting for it, while another side of the population was hesitant.
“We were looking for someone who could convey this message and bring people to centers,” Khazi said.
Father Michael A. Murphy, pastor of St. Joseph’s Passionist Monastery in Irvington, and Capuchin Franciscan Father Paul Zaborowski, pastor of St. Ambrose in Park Heights, were some of the role models who served as a channel for vaccinating Catholic communities.
Khazi said Father Murphy was well known by the community and the parish was in a centralized location with enough parking space.
St. Joseph’s was a “key in spreading the word as well as assisting people when they showed up for vaccination,” Khazi added.
Educating people who felt hesitant about the vaccine was a process.
The Baltimore City Health Department hosted a media campaign with information and resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as a door-to-door outreach prior to the clinics, in which the team would hand out flyers with education.
“Our goal was to correctly give out information based on facts,” Khazi said.
Some of the concerns in the community included: “Is there a microchip in the vaccine?” “Can I put a magnet in my arm?” “Will the vaccine affect my pregnancy and unborn child?”
“Everyone was one phone call away to be connected directly to our physicians at the hospital,” Khazi noted. “If you had a question, we were able to direct you to the experts.”
According to O’Neill, the west side of Baltimore City has some of the lowest vaccination rates, along with some rural areas.
Ascension St. Agnes hosted a “friends and family event” to increase vaccination while establishing a comfortable environment for children ages 5 to 11.
The event included two mini-festivals for children, complete with popcorn machines, snacks, Christmas decorations, rescue dogs, therapy dogs and coloring while the children waited their turn for shots.
“What we were really trying to do at St. Agnes was to turn something that has been really difficult for people into a positive experience,” O’Neill said. “Meeting people where they are, in places they feel comfortable, was critical to outreach vulnerable populations.”
Email Priscila González de Doran at pdoran@CatholicReview.org
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