Community Health Network has been on the frontlines battling the COVID-19 pandemic as an immediate response to the needs within the communities that we serve. Since March 2020, CHN has proven to be resilient through uncertain times and worked to provide COVID-19 education, testing, vaccinations, and treatment to the Southeast Harris, Brazoria, and Galveston Counties.
Testing Efforts
Innovation and technology adaptations were rapid solutions to the massive call for testing. CHN mobilized and hosted mass drive-thru testing in Brazoria County. The Brazoria County Fair Grounds location was an urgent response to the community need as soon as testing became available. The Mobile Medical Unit was also deployed to provide testing for patients in collaboration with partners in Brazoria, Harris, and Galveston Counties. We have completed over 30,765 tests to date at our clinics, remote locations and with our mobile medical unit patients. Providing services to schools, shelters, long-term care facilities, assisted living homes, businesses, and our clinic patients became the new daily normal. The team provided compassionate care for all patients meeting the needs of our communities.
Vaccination Efforts
Initially providing walk- in clinic vaccinations, the demand demonstrated the need for a larger scale operation. CHN branched into different approaches of vaccination administration with drive through vaccination clinics, drive up and park clinics, and at each MyCHN location. Care models were modified as the team dedicated to this mission came from every department of the organization to serve patients. These efforts culminated as Community Health Network provided the first mass drive thru vaccination event in Brazoria County with the largest event reaching almost 2,000 people within seven hours. Homeland Preparedness was an integral partnership which allowed for more patients to be served at the mass vaccination events. With such great demands, the creation of the event system was internally crafted to allow for the registration, documentation, and planning of vaccination events. Again, collaboration, innovation and technology allowed CHN to provide COVID-19 vaccines more effectively to the surrounding communities.
CHN continued to enhance its care delivery model by developing a Mobile Medical Outreach Team which was positioned to meet the needs of underserved populations and our vulnerable neighbors. This team has taken education, testing and vaccines to our partners at food pantries, apartment complexes, back-to-school events, Head Start registration events, health fairs, churches, and community festivals. The vision of Community Health Network is to be a leader in providing quality services and programs that enhance the lives of people in our community. Through our COVID-19 Vaccines-on-the-Go and clinic efforts, we have provided over 22,704 vaccines to date. We look for every opportunity for our teams to engage with the community and meet them where they are. Whether we are providing vaccines for veterans, families at cultural fairs, people seeking resources at homeless resource collaboration events, college students returning to campus, homebound patients in need, or patients recovering in drug and alcohol treatment centers, we will meet the needs of all people regardless of social determinants of health. CHN will continue to partner with US Housing and Urban Development and other community leaders and organizations to educate those within our reach about the importance of vaccination. These community outreach events have taken vaccines to the people in their own neighborhoods protecting each individual and caring for their personal needs.
Treatment Efforts
Finally, the frontline team has been relentless in the fight against COVID-19 providing treatment with monoclonal antibodies to our patients who test positive and meet the criteria for high-risk qualifications. If a person requires these services, they are provided close monitoring, observation, and access to groundbreaking care. CHN seeks to provide the most innovative and effective care modalities possible for our patients. Our staff thoughtfully cares for those who enter our treatment areas and seeks to prevent severe illness, hospitalizations and death with available therapies and preventative measures.
As we look to the efforts made in this pandemic to help keep our patients healthy, it has been a team effort by CHN and every staff member. The noteworthy collaboration is a source of pride for this organization which embodies this strong, resilient, and tenacious team. Community Health Network is a small but mighty force that will not allow barriers to keep our patients from care. Each valued team member can say, “We are CHN!” Together we will continue to achieve remarkable impacts to patient care and change lives in the communities that we serve.
