Penn Medicine Princeton Health Leads Effort to Vaccinate School Staff
April 1, 2021
Kayla Culbreath (left), Deanna DiSilvestro (center), and John Sullivan (right) were among 264 school employees vaccinated by Penn Medicine Princeton Health at a vaccine clinic hosted by the Cranbury School on Tuesday, March 30. This was the first in a series of similar events planned by Princeton Health Community Wellness and Engagement. EDITORS: For caption information and high-resolution images, visit Dropbox here.
Penn Medicine Princeton Health and school nursing staffs across Central Jersey are teaming up to vaccinate school employees against COVID-19, an important step in protecting staff, teachers, and administrators as school districts return to more in-person instruction.
Nurses and other staff members from Princeton Health Community Wellness and Engagement will be traveling to schools in Middlesex, Mercer, and Somerset counties to provide vaccine clinics for staff members of the host school as well as neighboring districts. School nurses attend the clinics to monitor individuals for 15 minutes after receiving the vaccine.
The effort kicked off Tuesday, March 30 at Cranbury School and will continue for the next several weeks. In mid-April, Princeton Health will also begin working with colleges and universities to vaccinate their staff members.
Vaccinating education and higher education staff is part of an ongoing, broader plan by Princeton Health to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to members of demographic groups that state health officials indicate may have challenges scheduling or getting to vaccine appointments, said Margaret DeFalco, Assistant Vice President, Administrative Services, who supervises vaccine operations at Princeton Health. She noted that Princeton Health also is focused on assisting people 65 and older who may have difficulty navigating online scheduling systems.
Princeton Health’s vaccine clinic on the Princeton Medical Center campus continues to serve all individuals who are eligible for the vaccine under state guidelines. The off-site clinics are being provided in addition to the full schedule of on-site vaccinations that were already arranged at Princeton Health.
“We are committed to fulfilling the lifelong healthcare needs of people in our community, and COVID-19 is the greatest public health challenge in recent memory,” DeFalco said. “Vaccinating as many people as possible is a crucial step. We are working with partners throughout the community to do this in a safe, effective, and equitable manner.”
About Penn Medicine Princeton Health
Penn Medicine Princeton Health is one of the most comprehensive healthcare systems in New Jersey, providing acute care hospital services through Princeton Medical Center; behavioral healthcare through Princeton House Behavioral Health; in-home nursing, rehabilitation and hospice care; primary and specialty care through Princeton Medicine Physicians; ambulatory surgery and wellness services. For more information, visit www.princetonhcs.org. Penn Medicine Princeton Health is part of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which, together with the University of Pennsylvania’s Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, forms Penn Medicine, one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research and excellence in patient care.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Andy Williams, 609-423-3289
andrew.williams3@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Nurses and other staff members from Princeton Health Community Wellness and Engagement will be traveling to schools in Middlesex, Mercer, and Somerset counties to provide vaccine clinics for staff members of the host school as well as neighboring districts. School nurses attend the clinics to monitor individuals for 15 minutes after receiving the vaccine.
The effort kicked off Tuesday, March 30 at Cranbury School and will continue for the next several weeks. In mid-April, Princeton Health will also begin working with colleges and universities to vaccinate their staff members.
Vaccinating education and higher education staff is part of an ongoing, broader plan by Princeton Health to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to members of demographic groups that state health officials indicate may have challenges scheduling or getting to vaccine appointments, said Margaret DeFalco, Assistant Vice President, Administrative Services, who supervises vaccine operations at Princeton Health. She noted that Princeton Health also is focused on assisting people 65 and older who may have difficulty navigating online scheduling systems.
Princeton Health’s vaccine clinic on the Princeton Medical Center campus continues to serve all individuals who are eligible for the vaccine under state guidelines. The off-site clinics are being provided in addition to the full schedule of on-site vaccinations that were already arranged at Princeton Health.
“We are committed to fulfilling the lifelong healthcare needs of people in our community, and COVID-19 is the greatest public health challenge in recent memory,” DeFalco said. “Vaccinating as many people as possible is a crucial step. We are working with partners throughout the community to do this in a safe, effective, and equitable manner.”
About Penn Medicine Princeton Health
Penn Medicine Princeton Health is one of the most comprehensive healthcare systems in New Jersey, providing acute care hospital services through Princeton Medical Center; behavioral healthcare through Princeton House Behavioral Health; in-home nursing, rehabilitation and hospice care; primary and specialty care through Princeton Medicine Physicians; ambulatory surgery and wellness services. For more information, visit www.princetonhcs.org. Penn Medicine Princeton Health is part of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which, together with the University of Pennsylvania’s Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, forms Penn Medicine, one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research and excellence in patient care.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Andy Williams, 609-423-3289
andrew.williams3@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
