Diane Graham-Raff has taken on the role of matchmaker to get vaccines in the arms of people who are at higher-than-normal risk and haven’t yet gotten vaccinated.
While 81 percent of people 65+ in Minnesota have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of the end of March, the growth rate has stalled over the past few weeks. According to Michael Osterholm, epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota, “to get the remaining older adults vaccinated and protected against COVID-19, we need to take the vaccination to them.”
Trellis (formerly Metropolitan Area Agency on Aging) is doing just that. We’ve become the link between the Department of Human Services’ efforts to distribute vaccines to older adults and the community-based aging services organizations that people know and trust to deliver the vaccines.
Graham-Raff, ElderCare Development Coordinator at Trellis, is spearheading the effort. Vaccines are still in limited supply so Graham-Raff must juggle the number of doses the state allocates in any given week with the requests from community organizations.
In one effort, Graham-Raff is working with Imam Asad Zaman, Executive Director of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, to reach 6000 older adults in the Muslim community before the start of Ramadan on April 12. She also arranged for a community vaccination site hosted by Open Arms of Minnesota that vaccinated 380 people—people with HIV and other chronic conditions, volunteers and essential workers. Graham-Raff worked with Phoenix Cove, a pan-Asian organization that serves elders and caregivers and partners with Asian organizations across the metro, to schedule three clinics to make vaccines available to approximately 1000 elders.
“Many of those who have not yet been vaccinated face difficulties with mobility, transportation or internet connectivity. Many immigrant older adults face language barriers, and trust is a challenging issue,” said Dawn Simonson, President and CEO of Trellis. “We have been working for some time with the Minnesota Leadership Council on Aging, the Metropolitan Center for Independent Living and others to bring attention to the people who are falling through the cracks. We are pleased to now be able to coordinate these community clinics.”
In all, Graham-Raff has organized clinics in 27 locations so far. “People were eager and appreciative,” according to Beth Wiggins, director of Caregiving & Aging Services at FamilyMeans and host of a community clinic. “Every bit of progress is a step in the right direction!” Khadra Mohamed, public health nurse for Hennepin County, reinforces the importance of the community-based approach Trellis is using. “It is so important that you are working with the imams,” said Mohamed. “It will bring the whole community around and build trust in those who are hesitant.”
Graham-Raff is looking forward to being able to offer clinics using a new mobile vaccinator bus that the State will make available as of April 19. The DHS-Trellis team will have priority in scheduling the bus for clinics serving elders and other high-risk individuals. “It will allow us to schedule vaccinations anywhere in the metro, even in locations that don’t have an adequate facility,” said Graham-Raff. “It will allow us to schedule a clinic for smaller groups of people.”
If your organization serves older adults and you are interested in scheduling a clinic, email Diane Graham-Raff.
If are an older adult or a caregiver for an older adult, call the Senior LinkAge Line® at 800-333-2433 for help in finding a vaccine site.
