FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 12, 2020
SCOTT COUNTY PARTNERSHIP FIRST IN STATE TO PROVIDE HOMEBOUND PATIENTS WITH COVID-19 VACCINES
FEBRUARY 12―One month ago Scott County Health Department administered their first doses of Moderna vaccine to protect individuals against COVID-19. Now, Scott County is the first in the state to provide homebound patients with the vaccine. This was possible because of an already thriving partnership between Scott County EMS and the Scott County Health Department.
The Indiana Department of Health (IDOH), Family & Social Services Administration (FSSA) and Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS) announced the “Homebound Hoosiers” project earlier this month. The purpose of this project is to connect homebound Hoosiers to local health departments and EMS for home COVID-19 vaccinations. The project provides a patient portal for local health departments to find homebound Hoosiers wanting a COVID-19 vaccine. Local health departments will work with their local EMS to go out and administer the vaccines to the homebound patients.
Scott County Health Department had already identified homebound patients that met the vaccination criteria of 65 or older. Scott County Health Department provided the vaccine and scheduled the appointments for the patients. Scott County EMS went to the patients’ homes to administer the vaccine. EMS stayed with the patients for 15 minute afterwards to monitor for any adverse reactions.
Scott County EMS Director, Shannon Mount, met with IDHS leadership yesterday and was informed Scott County was the first in the state to participate in the Homebound Hoosiers project. “We have been working closely with the health department since the start of the pandemic. We are glad to work with them and provide this service to our community.” said Mount. Scott County Health Department Administrator, Michelle Matern, agreed by stating “Starting this project was pretty easy because of our already great working-relationship with our EMS department.”
Scott County Health Department provide nearly 600 COVID-19 vaccines per week. Scott County EMS is there monitoring patients for all vaccine clinics at the health department. If a homebound individual would like to receive a COVID-19 vaccine they should contact their health department or call 211.