Texas Tech donates COVID-19 vaccines to Emergence Health Network for adults with disabilities

Emergence Health Network, in a partnership with Texas Tech, began administering free COVID-19 vaccines to EHN clients with developmental disabilities Thursday.

EHN scheduled residents of their group homes with intellectual developmental disabilities (IDD) to receive the a COVID-19 vaccine at their DayHab center in east El Paso.

“These are folks that have very specific challenges and access to healthcare is one of them,” Rene Hurtado, Chief of Staff at EHN said. “Through this partnership with the Paul Foster School of Medicine, we are able to bring the vaccine to them in this controlled environment.”

Gabriel Fernandez, a nurse from the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, set up a vaccination station inside an EHN nurses stations where he had sixteen doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine ready for EHN clients, which were donated by Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso.

“The important work Emergence Health Network does in our community is invaluable, and we’re happy to extend a helping hand to ensure their clients are kept safe from serious illness due to COVID-19,” Richard Lange, president of the TTUHSC El Paso said.

EHN is working to provide vaccines to their clients because adults with disabilities are more likely to have underlying medical conditions that could put them at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19.

EHN plans on extending their free vaccination program to the approximately 70 other clients in their network that live in private homes, Hurtado said.

“As always, TTUHSC El Paso’s priority is to improve the health and lives of Borderland residents, and we’ll continue working with local organizations to assist with gaps in access to COVID-19 vaccinations,” Lange said.

“Access to health care is often a challenge for this population, but the donation will ensure they are protected as well,” Daugherty said.

Three thousand doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine arrived at the Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso Alberta, Kenworthy and Transmountain clinics Wednesday, Dec. 23.

Since then, TTUHSC El Paso has been working with community partners to determine how El Paso can best be served with this recent round of vaccine.

More: El Paso County, city officials address concerns over distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.

More: How to get the COVID-19 vaccine in El Paso.

Aaron E. Martinez can be reached at aemartinez@elpasotimes.com.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Texas Tech donates COVID-19 vaccines to Emergence Health Network for adults with disabilities

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