Page 3 - Mary's Center - Connections - Spring 2021

ON THE FRONT LINE OF CARE

DURING THE PANDEMIC

When COVID-19 hit the nation, healthcare facilities Shifting to Telehealth
needed to quickly pivot their delivery of care to protect
To continue meeting the needs of our participants, we
the safety and health of patients and providers. The same
expanded our telehealth services by investing in more
is true for Mary’s Center; we adapted our delivery of
laptops and extra internet bandwidth. From March
services and programs and became equipped to test and
through December 2020, Mary’s Center provided
treat participants for the virus.
over 138,400 telemedicine appointments, including
By investing in essential personal protective equipment behavioral health, dental, medical, and nutrition.
(PPE), additional cleaning supplies, and tents for outdoor
testing, Mary’s Center responded rapidly to keep our Testing for the Virus
participants and providers safe.
Since the start of the pandemic, Mary’s Center has been
a go-to testing site for the community. In partnership
with the Montgomery County Department of Health and
Human Services and the Latino Health Initiative, we have
been providing ongoing free COVID-19 tests at our Silver
Spring health center and other locations throughout
Montgomery County.

The goal of this initiative is to reduce the impact of
COVID-19 among Latino residents in Montgomery
County by providing wraparound services including a
health navigation phone line, COVID-19 testing, clinical
follow-up, and case-management. Our Silver Spring
Director of Operations, Zulma Aparicio, explained that
the need for these resources is signifi cant. From October
2020 through January 2021, Mary’s Center “tested at
least 150 individuals each week at our Silver Spring site
and the positivity rate continues to rise,” said Zulma.

Vaccination is key

A critical step to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is
vaccination, and Mary’s Center is playing a crucial role in
vaccine dissemination. As of February 1st, Mary’s Center
has vaccinated over 800 individuals in the region, a fi gure
that we hope is more than doubled by the time this
newsletter is mailed. Our COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force
is working with DC Health and the Health and Human
Services Departments for both Montgomery County
Director of Clinical Services, Elysia Jordan, RN, MPH, opens Mary’s Center’s fi rst and Prince George’s County in Maryland to vaccinate
shipment of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. community members.

Vaccine Task Force member and Mary’s Center’s Director
Mary’s Center is committed to protecting our community of Clinical Services, Elysia Jordan, RN, MPH, explained
members from COVID-19 and will continue to work with local that community health centers play a critical role in
governments to administer the vaccine in the DC region. getting community members vaccinated. According to
Visit https://covidlink.maryland.gov/content/vaccine/ Elysia, “without health centers, states would have diffi culty
to learn about getting vaccinated in Maryland and ensuring that the most vulnerable patients would have
https://coronavirus.dc.gov/vaccine for vaccination access to COVID-19 vaccination.”
information in DC.

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