Contact: Matthew Driscoll
matthew.driscoll@mainehealth.org
SACO, Maine — MaineHealth Care at Home has begun the process of distributing the COVID-19 vaccine to eligible homebound patients receiving services with the agency, becoming one of the first organizations in the state to offer this accommodation for home health patients.
The Saco-based home health care agency, which is a part of MaineHealth, the region’s largest integrated health care system, recently delivered 10 first-dose inoculations to patients unable to access a local vaccination clinic due to health conditions limiting their mobility and independence. Two field nurses, Crystal Berry and Courtney Boudreau, transported and administered the Moderna vaccine to 10 medically-vulnerable patients in the greater Saco/Biddeford region.
Over the next several weeks and assuming vaccine availability, MaineHealth Care at Home will be positioned to provide the COVID-19 vaccine to hundreds of their homebound Maine patients still in need of vaccination.
“Community health is one of the pillars of our agency,” said Robert Abel, chief nursing officer at MaineHealth Care at Home. “We are thrilled that we are able to deliver the COVID-19 vaccination throughout our communities to ensure that home-bound patients have access to the vaccine. This is a real game changer for our vulnerable community members.”
Currently, the COVID-19 vaccine from MaineHealth Care at Home is available to patients receiving home health services from the agency who are eligible for vaccination under state and federal CDC guidelines. Home vaccinations will be provided based on need to existing patients who are clinically unable, for health or mobility reasons, to get to a public vaccination site in a safe manner.
MaineHealth Care at Home is not authorized to admit patients for the sole purpose of vaccination and is not permitted to offer vaccinations to family members and others who do not qualify for home health services. The agency will communicate directly with its patients regarding the vaccination program and it is not taking requests for vaccinations outside of its existing patient population.
“For 125 years, MaineHealth Care at Home has worked tirelessly to bring compassionate healthcare into our communities,” said Donna DeBlois, President of MaineHealth Care at Home. “We stand in a unique position that allows us to bring the COVID-19 vaccine to our most vulnerable patients in the safety of their homes.”
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Editors and producers: Photos to accompany this release can be found here.
About MaineHealth Care at Home
Headquartered in Saco, Maine, MaineHealth Care at Home offers a full range of skilled home health services to children and adults, including nursing care, nutritional counseling, emotional support, palliative care, rehabilitative therapies, and telehealth and hospice. It also offers a full range of community health and wellness programs throughout its service area, which includes York, Cumberland, Lincoln, Knox, Waldo, Sagadahoc and Oxford Counties. MaineHealth Care at Home also offers hospice services throughout Knox, Waldo and Lincoln counties with short-term hospice care and respite services at the Sussman House, a hospice facility located in Rockport, Maine.