COMMUNICATIONS

Committee Coverage.

Prior to joining African Services Committee (ASC) as a Community Health Worker, Kenneth Cruz served as a scribe in clinics throughout New York City’s five boroughs at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. An essential health care worker on the frontlines of a budding pandemic, Cruz leveraged his English, French, and Spanish language skills to care for communities disproportionately infected and affected by the novel coronavirus. It was a time when the public health community knew little about COVID-19, but the experience prepared him to respond with the advent of vaccines.

Cruz, along with his team at ASC — Emily Goldberg-Hall, Director of Health Engagement; Djenabou Magassouba, Community Health Worker; Fatoumata Ngaido, Community Health Worker; Kassim Kone, Community Health Worker; Sharon Pitter, Community Health Worker; Raymond Opuni Sekyere, Peer Vaccine Ambassador; Chinyere Nze, Peer Vaccine Ambassador; Ingri Rojas, Peer Vaccine Ambassador; and Anahi Tapia, Peer Vaccine Ambassador — partnered with Ryan Health to vaccinate the African Diaspora immigrant community at ASC on January 19, 2022.

“With the onset of the Delta and Omicron variants, it is a critical time for unvaccinated populations to receive their first and second doses, as well as booster shots,” Cruz said. “Our partnership with Ryan Health allowed for ASC’s organizing of a community-based approach to vaccinate clients — regardless of their immigration status.”

Since November 2020, ASC’s team has served more than 10,700 New Yorkers. The team, which is funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration and is a part of the Local Community-Based Workforce for COVID-19 Vaccine Access, collaborated with Ryan Health | Adair and Ryan Health | Frederick Douglass to vaccinate 15 clients.

“This partnership with Ryan Health allows ASC to add additional vaccine components to our existing interventions for COVID-19 prevention,” said Goldberg-Hall.

“These events let the community know that ASC and Ryan Health understand their needs and know how to work together to serve them to the best of our ability,” said Aboubakar Diaby, Special Projects Coordinator at Ryan Health | Adair. “We hope to continue collaborating with ASC and organizations alike to serve the community and meet them where they are.”

The Expanded Access to Care Grant allows Ryan Health to partner with organizations like ASC to not only administer vaccines, but also to screen patients for high blood pressure and diabetes. Ryan Health’s team — which included Diaby; George Dawson, Community Health Worker; Juan Montoya, Community Health Worker; Tiffany Walker, Community Health Worker; and Yadira Jimenez, Registered Nurse — provided clinical services to ASC’s clients.

“This partnership with Ryan Health allows ASC to add additional vaccine components to our existing interventions for COVID-19 prevention,” said Goldberg-Hall.

Alongside the team of Community Health Workers and Peer Vaccine Ambassadors, a second COVID-19 Outreach program at ASC operates with support from the New York City Vaccine Referral Bonus Program, Test and Trace Corps, and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Outreach Specialist Mariam Traore and Youth Workers Nadifa Kargbo and Aida Pene distribute personal protective equipment; navigate community members to testing and vaccination; and broadcast multilingual messages to dispel misinformation. This program’s interventions are focused in south and central Harlem, but the team collaborates with community-based organizations throughout New York City for additional events across the five boroughs. Since November 2020, they have delivered more than 300,000 masks to communities disproportionately infected and affected by the virus.

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