Hospital Going Out to Community for Vaccine Efforts

ROCKY MOUNT, North Carolina (April 5, 2021) –

As the state prepares to open all COVID-19 vaccine groups later in the week, Nash UNC Health Care and the local health departments have been ramping up vaccination efforts in the community.

While only a few weeks ago vaccine appointments were scarce, now there are a variety of options for community members to choose from.

To help community members find out which option is best for them, Nash UNC has established a phone line that provides information for all the vaccination clinics they are partnering with or hosting in the community. Nash UNC is also now offering vaccination to homebound individuals through this phone line.

“After receiving data and community feedback, we found that location and a trusted source are the driving factors for individuals to get vaccinated,” said L. Lee Isley, president and CEO of Nash UNC Health Care. “With this feedback, we worked to partner with local churches and other community partners to offer vaccination clinics at their sites. We’ve worked with their staff and volunteers to conduct outreach to their networks, provide vaccine education, and get them scheduled for vaccination.”

This phone line will provide information about various clinics in the area and will serve as a way for community members to schedule their vaccine appointment.

Starting April 7, all NC adults will be eligible to receive the vaccine.

Nash UNC’s Community Vaccination Line is 252-962-8624. To schedule a vaccination appointment at one of Nash UNC’s community vaccine clinics (locations vary from week to week), community members may call and follow the directions below.

• Leave a voicemail with your full name, date of birth, and best contact number.
• Also include which clinic you are trying to make an appointment for (since multiple clinics are offered each week). If you are unsure of the current clinic locations and vaccination opportunities, or if you are homebound and unable to travel to a vaccination clinic, please note this in your message and a Nash UNC team member will call you to discuss vaccination options.
• A member of the Nash UNC vaccine scheduling team will call you back as soon as possible, often during normal business hours, to schedule your appointment.

If a community member prefers to receive a vaccine in a doctor’s office setting, they can call (984)-215-5485 (Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm) or visit www.yourshot.org to schedule an appointment through Eastern North Carolina Medical Group (ENCMG) or another nearby UNC Health primary care provider.

Nash UNC’s Vaccine website – includes all of this information, as well as information on other community vaccination resources such as Nash County Health Department’s COVID-19 Hotline and registration link, Edgecombe County Health Department’s phone numbers and webpages, and links to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Vaccine Locator site which provides vaccination sites by zip code. Nash UNC’s vaccine website also includes Vaccine education information in both English and Spanish languages.

“Although the vaccine helps us take a big step towards normal life again, we encourage everyone to continue doing their part to keep communities in the region safe from COVID-19. Please continue to wash your hands, wear a mask and social distance,” said Isley.

Cases of COVID are still quite active in the Twin Counties, despite the increase in vaccinations. As of April 5, 27 patients were hospitalized at Nash UNC with COVID complications.

“We saw a brief decrease in COVID patients at Nash UNC Health Care in February, with our inpatient COVID census getting down to the mid-teens for a few weeks,” said Isley. “However, cases requiring hospitalization crept back up in March and have been hanging in the high 20s and low 30s for the past few weeks. We must encourage folks to get vaccinated and to seek early treatment if they test positive for COVID-19.”

For more information on COVID Vaccines and how to schedule an appointment, visit NashUNCHealthCare.org/Vaccine, where various vaccine options are listed.