VALHALLA, N.Y. (April 16, 2021) – Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) has surpassed another milestone in the COVID-19 vaccination effort with the announced coordination of more than 1 million doses to vaccination sites across the Hudson Valley.
New York State selected WMCHealth to be the vaccine distribution coordinator for the Hudson Valley Region Hub in its Regional Vaccine Network. As such, WMCHealth leads a group consisting of more than 300 hospitals, healthcare organizations, community associations and others to ensure the equitable and efficient distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Putnam, Dutchess, Ulster and Sullivan counties.
Leading the Way in Vaccine Coordination and Administration
WMCHealth is currently supporting the work of four, state-run mass vaccination centers: Westchester County Center; Rockland Community College; Orange Community College; Ulster County Fairgrounds. In addition to the mass vaccination centers, WMCHealth is hosting vaccination efforts on its hospital campuses and collaborating with universities, faith-based institutions, community centers and local organizations to administer COVID-19 vaccines at pop-up sites around the region. To date, WMCHealth has directly administered more than 235,000 vaccinations at these locations.
"WMCHealth continues to manage vaccine redistribution across the Hudson Valley, in collaboration with Governor Cuomo's Vaccine Distribution and Implementation Task Force, the State Department of Health, local governments, and our healthcare and community partners," said Josh Ratner, WMCHealth Executive Vice President, and Hudson Valley Region Hub Lead. "This historic undertaking and the 1-million-dose allocation milestone would not have been possible without the commitment and cooperation of hundreds of Hudson Valley entities and individuals. These partnerships have been critical to the success of this effort and while there is much more work to accomplish, we are taking this moment to recognize the dedication of everyone involved."
Establishing Task Force Groups to Ensure Distribution Equity
WMCHealth established multiple task force groups to help ensure open communication, transparency, efficiency and equity in vaccine distribution. This includes the 75-member Health Equity Task Force, whose members meet weekly to identify vaccine access and distribution barriers and develop solutions to remove them. Other task force groups established under the broader guidance of the Hudson Valley Region Hub include the Regional Task Force, County Executives Task Force and Provider Task Force.
Vaccine Eligibility and Access
Lenora Clarke, LPN of Westchester Medical Center administers the COVID-19 vaccine to Catalina Restrepo. Restrepo received the 100,000 vaccine dose administered at the Westchester County Center
For more information on eligibility and mass vaccination sites please visit: Am-I-Eligible.COVID19Vaccine.Health.NY.gov, or call the New York State Vaccination Hotline at
1-833-NYS-4VAX (1-833-697-48290).
WMCHealth's interactive directory assists Hudson Valley residents in accessing COVID-19 vaccinations. The directory's map is available as part of the WMCHealth online resource https://COVIDInfo.WMCHealth.org/Vaccination that includes a wide variety of information about vaccine eligibility, safety and efficacy, as well as COVID care and treatments.
Up-to-date vaccine information – in a variety of languages - is also just a phone call away through the United Way's 211 Helpline, with which WMCHealth partnered to help answer the community's vaccination questions. In addition to providing on-the-spot information, the call center generates regular reports on metrics and the type of COVID-related questions it receives, which can help WMCHealth and the Health Equity Task Force update or create vaccine materials.