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Date: 3/22/2021
GRANBY – Homebound residents in Granby are having a mobile vaccine clinic come to them. The Amherst Board of Health put together a route based on seniors that the Council on Aging directors determined were most needy and most unable to access the vaccine.
Emma Dragon, director of Public Health for the town of Amherst responded, “Back in January when we were starting to set up our stand in vaccine clinic here in Amherst we were first identified as a regional site for Eastern Hampshire County which included eight towns: Amherst, Belchertown, Granby, Hadley, Hatfield, Pelham, South Hadley and Ware.”
She continued, “We wanted to collaborate with our local communities and identify vulnerable populations within those communities to make sure that we’re having as equitable vaccine distribution as we can. We all felt really strong with that and part of that we identified was people that are homebound. Whether they’re shut-ins, frail, have mental illness or don’t have resources.”
Earlier on, even before the state had been ready to announce homebound programs, Dragon said they were communicating with the eight communities and partnering with the Council on Aging directors, Senior Center directors, Board of Health departments and fire and emergency medical services for those communities to be able to reach out to people, have a list and see if people are – what Dragon called – a “skilled in” for those services meaning they have no way to access successfully their site or another site. From there, those names were entered into a database and coordinated from there to be able to come out and vaccinate. To date, they have done 61 home-bound people in six of those communities.
On March 8, the Amherst Board of Health and Fire Department, accompanied by the Granby Fire Department, served 14 homebound seniors.
Director Chloe Canter of Granby Council on Aging said, “The seniors were so appreciative. This is such a big deal to them. There were some people who are homebound because they have severe respiratory issues and are dependent on oxygen. COVID[–19] is petrifying for people that already have preexisting respiratory issues and other health conditions. This was a Godsend to them.”
She went on to say, “Many got emotional when I told them of the opportunity. Several homebound seniors said, ‘I love you’ to me, but the credit really goes to the Amherst Board of Health for doing this outreach for us because it made a huge difference to our homebound seniors.”
Canter told Reminder Publishing they were approached by the Amherst Board of Health, who were doing outreach to surrounding communities. Because their community had more resources, Amherst reached out to smaller towns and asked the respective Council on Aging directors to put together a list from their own personal knowledge of the homebound seniors in town who were most needy and most unable to access the vaccine. They in turn came to town and visited each homebound senior one by one and administered the first dose of vaccine.
“Granby has more seniors that are homebound and weren’t vaccinated. There are several reasons why seniors may be homebound,” Canter replied. “Some can leave the house if they get a ride and could comfortably stand in line at a vaccine clinic. Others really can’t, so each situation was evaluated and those who were in most need were served in this program.”
Canter explained their goal is to advocate for and assist seniors. A huge priority of the Granby Council on Aging has been helping seniors get registered for the vaccine and helping people have access to it, she said. They have a vaccine call list and have been using transportation services to help transport homebound seniors to their appointments. Canter also said the Granby Board of Health and Fire Department had stated they did not have access to the vaccine and they were in the process of figuring out how to help their homebound seniors. With Amherst providing that access, it made a big difference to their most needy seniors.
Dragon added, “Sometimes we don’t even know who they are. There’s also a lot of individuals that are homebound that aren’t necessarily connected with Council on Aging or even visiting nursing that might live alone. These are individuals that don’t have access to transportation and other means to be able to come out to a vaccine clinic.”
She continued, “Sometimes they do have visiting nursing and other caregivers that come into the home which does make them more vulnerable to COVID[–19] if people are coming in and out of the home. If someone has dementia or bed bound, we want to make sure they are vaccinated as well. This has been a great initial program. The beginning of this new kind of vaccine delivery and administration to those communities, so we’re evaluating other ways to move forward.”
Right now, referrals are being considered by the Amherst Board of Health on a rolling basis. The Granby Board of Health has also stated they are in the process of enrolling in a state program that would potentially visit and vaccinate homebound seniors. If someone is concerned about a homebound senior in Granby that is unable to access the vaccine, call the Granby Council on Aging at 467-3239 to discuss options.