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VNA nurses now visiting homebound seniors to give COVID-19 vaccinations

STORY BY MICHELLE GENZ (Week of April 8, 2021)
Photo: Lynnette Essig an Licensed Practical Nurse with the Visiting Nurse Association organizes her materials as she loads up to deliver vaccines to homebound seniors on Friday morning, April 2.

In the frantic first weeks of COVID-19 vaccine availability, a subset of Vero’s seniors were spared the frustration of trying to book appointments via jammed phone lines and crashed websites. They had no hope of getting a shot because they couldn’t leave their homes.

Last week, homebound residents in Indian River County finally went to the front of the line.

Through a collaboration of local agencies, those incapable of getting to a vaccine clinic can now get a house call from a VNA nurse, happy to give them the shot in the comfort of their home at no cost.

The house-call solution to getting the homebound vaccinated is the result of collaboration between the county’s Health Department, the VNA of the Treasure Coast, and the Senior Resource Association and its Community Coach bus system.

“It takes a community to help a community,” said Senior Resource CEO Karen Deigl, who credits the VNA for taking the lead on the project. Her organization had its own list of homebound clients who avail themselves of Senior Resource programs such as meal delivery, housekeeping services and even companionship.

The Community Coach, a door-to-door service run by Senior Resource, has already given rides to more than 700 people who had trouble finding transportation to vaccination sites. The new program, though, is limited to those who are suffering from medical conditions that make it impossible to leave home.

Those residents were isolated even before COVID-19, more so with the virus circulating. But that didn’t make them safe: Nearly all require outside helpers in the home on a frequent, even daily, basis.

At the VNA, Pat Knipper, a registered nurse who is the agency’s health, education and wellness coordinator, said 150 people had signed up for in-home vaccinations by the start of this week. “More people are coming forward every day for consideration as word gets out,” she said. The list includes not only seniors but people of any age who are physically unable to leave their homes.

Deigl said the program has been allotted enough doses for nearly 500 people to get both shots.

Each day, organizers pull 10 names and plot their addresses by ZIP code on a map to find the most direct route to reach them all. Timing is important to keep the thawed vaccine from spoiling.

“Our Community Coach drivers are transporting [VNA nurses who give the shots]. They know the streets and roads,” said Deigl.

To extend outreach beyond those homebound people who call the VNA to arrange a vaccination, the program is reaching out to faith-based organizations and other home healthcare agencies to provide vaccines to their homebound as well, Deigl said.

“We have people making suggestions, private citizens just coming forward saying, ‘I know somebody’ or ‘I’ve got a patient’” who needs the program’s help, Knipper said.

Ultimately the goal of the outreach extends beyond covid vaccinations, Knipper said. “We also want to work with the health department to really understand the homebound needs in our county through this vaccine program.”

All it takes to get on the homebound vaccine master list is a phone call to a dedicated line at the VNA – 772-978-5524. Interested people can also send an email to IRCovidvaccinesforhomebound@vnatc.com.