Adventist Health creates COVID-19 vaccine email notification program for Mendocino County residents

MENDOCINO Co., 2/3/21 — Adventist Health, which operates the three hospitals in Mendocino County, has created an email notification system to alert residents when COVID-19 vaccination opportunities become available. You can sign up for notifications at http://bit.ly/ahmendo_notify, and you will receive an alert when there is an opportunity to sign-up for an appointment or mass vaccination event. Currently, Adventist Health is prioritizing vaccinations for adults 75 years and older, but additional opportunities may become available as vaccine distribution increases.

Here’s the announcement from Adventist Health:

Adventist Health in Mendocino County launches email notification for vaccine opportunities

February 2, 2021 (Mendocino County) – To help inform and make the process easier for the community to get notified of vaccine opportunities around the county, Adventist Health hospitals has created an email notification on its website. By going to http://bit.ly/ahmendo_notify, community members can register on the website to be notified when Adventist Health is holding a vaccination clinic around the county. Once signed up, they will receive an email notification announcing an event, with a sign-up link to make an appointment, as well as the age group or tier that is qualified. 

“We recognize the great need in our community for accurate and timely information around where or how to get vaccinated. One of our challenges has been reaching out to the general public, within the qualified tiers to inform them about vaccination opportunities. There is not one database that exists that includes this demographic and contact information. The goal is to be able to reach as many people as possible so we can vaccinate and protect our community and get one step closer to the end of this pandemic,” explains Judson Howe, president for Adventist Health in Mendocino County which manages the hospitals and clinics on the coast, Ukiah and Willits.

Adventist Health has been holding mass vaccination events around the county and have administered over 5,000 vaccines since December 18. “We continue to improve our processes to make it efficient and safe for everyone. It takes a lot of work and planning, but I’m extremely proud of our teams for stepping up to do this very important work of vaccinating the community, in addition to their regular roles of providing patient care for our community” shares Bessant Parker, MD, chief medical officer for Adventist Health. Anyone can sign up for the email notification and get alerts when there are events and find out when it’s their turn for a vaccine. But for now, the hospitals are focused on vaccinating individuals 75 and older due to limited vaccine supplies and following prioritization guidelines from the California Department of Health and Mendocino County Public Health. 

“Our challenge is that the vaccine supplies don’t match the demand. Our teams are eager and determined to do more of these mass vaccination events, but we are dependent on the supply allocation that we receive from the state. We are encouraged with the great interest from our community to get vaccinated. But we must continue prioritizing those who are most vulnerable and are disproportionately dying from COVID-19 in our community,” explains Dr. Parker.

Proof of age and ID will be required for every tier getting vaccinated. As Adventist Health gets more allocations from the state as a Multi-County Entity, more mass vaccination clinics will be scheduled.  Vaccine clinics will also be announced through the media, the three hospitals’ social media pages as well as through radio.