Ascension Wisconsin is partnering with Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to as many as 2,000 people weekly at a clinic on Milwaukee’s south side.
The health care organizations today announced they will work together to ramp up vaccinations at Sixteenth Street’s Parkway Clinic, at 2906 S. 20th St., beginning this week.
As part of the national Health Center COVID-19 vaccine program, Sixteenth Street will receive direct federal allocations of COVID-19 vaccines to help ensure equitable distribution of the vaccine. Several hundred Ascension Wisconsin health care workers will volunteer to staff the Parkway vaccine clinic to increase its capacity.
The organizations said, together, they will be able to more than quadruple the number of vaccinations currently administered at the clinic.
“Because the Hispanic community we serve continues to be disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, it’s critical that we get more shots in arms as quickly as possible,” said Liz Claudio, vice president of operations at Sixteenth Street. “Partnering with Ascension Wisconsin gives us the manpower we need to dramatically increase the number of community members we can vaccinate and work to minimize the racial and ethnic vaccination disparities.”
Ascension workers – including pharmacists, physicians, nurses, medical assistants, and pharmacy and nursing students – will staff 22 clinic positions a day, five days a week, for the next six weeks. The clinic is also setting up a heated clinic tent, previously used for COVID-19 testing, to be used for vaccinations.
“We all have a unique role to play and each of us brings different resources as we respond to this health crisis. Building on our respective vaccination efforts and combining the strengths of Ascension Wisconsin and Sixteenth Street will make a greater impact on protecting the health of our community,” said Reggie Newson, vice president of government and community services and chief advocacy officer for Ascension Wisconsin. “We are grateful for the opportunity to collaborate to connect residents with vaccines more quickly, especially for those in neighborhoods disproportionately affected by COVID-19.”
Sixteenth Street patients who are eligible for the vaccine can call the clinic to schedule and appointment.
The Findley Foundation’s family medical clinic at 530 S. 11th St. is also operating a vaccination program to serve people who might not have access to regular primary care.
The free, drive-thru vaccination program is open to Wisconsin residents who are health care workers, firefighters or police officers or are at least 65 years of age. The clinic has capacity to provide vaccines for 200 to 500 people per week. Appointment scheduling is available at Findleyfoundation.clientsecure.me.
