Mobile health group to vaccinate rural residents at local churches

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A Lowcountry non-profit bus is helping to vaccinate underserved residents in rural communities.

The Palmetto Palace Mobile Health Unit says the state’s health department has provided them with 2,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine and 100 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to deliver to residents who live outside of the Lowcountry’s populated communities.

“Palmetto Palace has been deliberately and methodically reaching out to church pastors and leaders in our rural areas to raise confidence in the vaccine and bring residents out on the weekends so that they can get this critically important shot,” said Palmetto Palace CEO and Founder Dr. Youlanda Gibbs. “We are grateful for our religious leaders in reaching their flocks and spreading the positive word of the vaccine.”

Palmetto Palace says they are leveraging the knowledge, experience and personnel of other area healthcare providers, including Roper St. Francis and Select Health of South Carolina in order to pull off the ambitious effort.

“We know that residents in rural pockets of our tri-county area struggle to get to our bigger cities with transportation still an issue and, in most cases, public transportation not even an option,” Roper St. Francis Director of Community Health Kimberly Butler-Willis said. “Roper St. Francis Healthcare fully supports Palmetto Palace’s efforts to reach these residents, educate them about the value of the vaccine and administer these shots.”

The following are the initial locations and dates for the Palmetto Palace Mobile Health Unit’s vaccinations:

Drive-Thru Vaccination Clinic for SCISA School Teachers & Staff and Community

Dates: Saturday, March 20 (Dose #1) and Saturday, April 17 (Dose #2)

Time: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Vaccine Manufacturer: Moderna

Location: North Charleston Coliseum COVID-19 Drive-Thru site that RSFH uses during the week

On-Site Community Vaccine Clinic

Dates: Sunday, March 21 (Dose #1) and Sunday, April 18 (Dose #2)

Time: 11 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Vaccine Manufacturer: Moderna

Location: New St. James Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, 5305 Maybank Highway Wadmalaw Island, 2948

On-Site Community Vaccine Clinic

Dates: Saturday, March 27 (Dose #1) and Saturday, April 24 (Dose #2)

Time: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Vaccine Manufacturer: Moderna

Location: Simpson United Methodist Church, 800 Flat St., Allendale SC 29810

On-Site Vaccine Clinic for our unhoused population

Date: Wednesday, March 31

Time: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Vaccine Manufacturer: Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen (One Dose)

Location: Tricounty Family Ministries, 2105 Cosgrove Ave., North Charleston SC 29405

On-Site Community Vaccine Clinic

Date: Saturday, April 10 (Dose #1) and Saturday, May 8 (Dose #2)

Time: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Vaccine Manufacturer: Moderna

Location: 725 Savage Road, Greater Macedonia African Methodist Episcopal Church,

Charleston, South Carolina 29414

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