Stop the Spread, St. John's Well Child and Family Center Join Forces To Help L.A. Residents Get More Than Just A COVID-19 Vaccine

LOS ANGELES, May 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- St. John's Well Child and Family Center, the largest healthcare provider in South and Central Los Angeles, has teamed up with COVID-19 relief nonprofit Stop the Spread, to launch an innovative program that leverages vaccination appointments to connect the city's most vulnerable residents with healthcare and social services.

The "Vaccine+" initiative launched this week at two vaccination sites run by St. John's in South L.A. largely serving low-income communities of color. The program utilizes the 15-to-30-minute monitoring period directly following the vaccination as an opportunity to connect and reconnect individuals to the healthcare system and community-based organizations to serve needs such as benefits navigation, food assistance, and mental and behavioral health.

Funded by a grant Stop the Spread received from Google, the program enlists Vaccine+ staff to help schedule health screening and/or primary care appointments at St. John's, enroll in health insurance, provide food assistance, and refer individuals to healthcare and social services based on need. Staff will directly engage with individuals in the observation area directly following the vaccination and participants will receive follow-up support via 2-way SMS text available in 5 different languages to ensure assistance is delivered after they have left the vaccination site.

"This collaboration with Stop the Spread and our community partners is exactly the kind of creative approach we need to deliver lifesaving services to our most vulnerable residents," said Jim Mangia, President and CEO of St. John's Well Child and Family Center. "The vaccine monitoring period can be a crucial moment in time to ensure equitable provision of important healthcare services and make a meaningful difference in the lives of our fellow residents."

"We're thrilled to be working with St. John's, an inspiring leader and innovator among the nation's Federally Qualified Health Centers," said Stop the Spread Executive Director Sharon Knight. "We believe Vaccine+ can help rebuild long-lost trust among many residents in these communities and advance health equity for all. It's also part of reimagining the role that trusted community leaders and organizations play in public health, and importantly an opportunity to create the infrastructure to prevent the next COVID-19."

St. John's and Stop the Spread, which has a history of fostering public-private partnerships, have enlisted three organizations to deliver additional services: 

• ConsejoSano provides 2-way post-vaccine engagement via multilingual, culturally tailored SMS text to support navigation to St. John's services and community-based resources 
• Unite Us enables Vaccine+ staff to submit standardized requests for healthcare and social service assistance, create secure electronic referrals to an accountable network of community-based organizations, and support ongoing case management
• Bento (formerly known as Hunger: Not Impossible) connects eligible program participants and their families with convenient, nutritious, pre-paid meals from nearby restaurants via 2-way SMS text

The Vaccine+ program is being rolled out at two existing community-based vaccination sites in South Los Angeles, the Avalon Health Center (6818 S. Avalon Blvd) and the Rolland Curtis Health Center (1060 Exposition Blvd.). Organizers may expand services or add Vaccine+ to additional sites contingent on additional funding and based on demand, engagement, and community needs.

About St. John's Well Child and Family Center
St. John's Well Child and Family Center is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit community health center. We serve patients of all ages through a network of Federally Qualified Health Centers and school-based clinics that span the breadth of Central and South Los Angeles and Compton. The non-profit organization was founded in 1964 as a small, volunteer pediatric clinic and has since expanded to become one of the most significant and comprehensive safety net providers in Los Angeles County. Our mission is to eliminate health disparities and foster community well-being by providing and promoting the highest quality care in South Los Angeles.

About Stop the Spread
Stop the Spread is a COVID-19 relief nonprofit founded in April 2020 to catalyze the private sector and address shortfalls and fill gaps in our nation's response to the pandemic. As a program of ImpactAssets, a $1.4 billion impact investing firm, Stop the Spread's mission is to equitably deploy solutions in the hardest hit communities through trusted community partners, catalyze organizations in response to the pandemic, and facilitate new cross-sector partnerships. 

Contact: Morrison Shafroth, [email protected]

SOURCE Stop The Spread

Related Links

https://www.stopthespread.org