OCH Regional Medical Center will begin Friday, April 9th making home visits to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to the homebound. The vaccines will be administered by paramedics with OCH EMS who will monitor patients for a minimum of 15 minutes after giving the shot.
“These patients who are homebound are some of our most vulnerable, and we want to make sure they have that level of protection the vaccine provides so that they’re able to have visitors and see their loved ones,” said OCH EMS Director Michael Hunt.
Homebound patients include those who are unable to leave their home without the help of another person or medical equipment, or their medical provider believes that their health or illness could get worse if they leave their home. The EMS team will map out travel plans to ensure vaccine is utilized within the approved time frames, including factoring in pre-vaccination preparation time, and post-vaccination observation time.
“We want to remove as many barriers as we possibly can for our community to receive the COVID vaccine,” said OCH Interim Chief Nursing Officer Savannah Brown, whose nursing administration office has been coordinating the vaccinations since December. “We’re encouraged to see a steady decline in people testing positive for COVID, and we want to do our part to see those numbers continually decrease.”
In March, OCH was named a “COVID-19 Center of Excellence” by Mississippi State Department of Health based on vaccination, treatment and access of care.
The vaccine administered to the homebound will be the Johnson & Johnson brand which requires only one shot. At this time, these vaccinations will be reserved for the homebound who reside in Oktibbeha County. To request a vaccination at home, please call 662-615-2981.