POMONA – With so many seniors in Rockland County waiting for their shot at a COVID-19 vaccine, the county and Refuah Health Center teamed up on Monday.
This week and last, Refuah, a federally qualified health center, received considerably more COVID-19 vaccine doses for its two Ramapo clinics 2,000 each week than the county health department s total of 1,200 per week.
County Executive Ed Day said Refuah pitched in Monday to vaccinate seniors on the Office for the Aging s wait list.
“They did tremendous work during our measles outbreak where countywide over 30,000 MMR shots were given, Day said. They are true community partners who know how to get shots into arms.”
Forty – five years ago President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month, calling upon the public to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”
Since then, we have celebrated Black History Month by honoring African Americans who have made a difference in their communities, the nation and/or the world and remembering the people who dedicated their lives to the purist of equality and freedom.
Feb. 22, 2021 saw the Village of Haverstraw begin an annual tradition of acknowledging Black History Month by honoring members of it’s own community, starting with Virginia (Ginny) Norfleet. Northfleet’s nomination was originally proposed by Village Trustee Gil Carlevarro.
Frances Pratt honored with Key to Rockland for decades of civil rights work, trailblazing Steve Lieberman, Rockland/Westchester Journal News
Dr. Frances Pratt receives the Key to the County for her service & leadership.
Replay Video UP NEXT
NEW CITY – Frances Pratt received the Rockland County executive s highest civilian award on Friday for her decades as Nyack NAACP president and a civil rights leader.
Pratt, wearing one of her trademark floppy hats, which earned her the moniker Pratt in the Hat, recently retired as Nyack NAACP branch leader. She had worked for years as a nurse and then as the first African American head nurse at Nyack Hospital s emergency room.
Pratt offered words of thanks in her signature style.
She thanked friend and brother the honorable Ed Day for this honor and told him that her mother s father was Irish so there may be more blood between us than one might think. While I don t have the documents to prove our kinship – our freckles speak volumes, Pratt said, drawing laughter during the short ceremony at the County Office Building.
She spoke of my daughter from another mother, Constance Frazier, a retired educator, and the Rockland Human Rights commissioner, as well as her grandson, Gerald Parker, and other friends and colleagues.
With about 11,000 seniors on the Office for the Aging’s waiting list and many others struggling to make appointments for the Covid-19 vaccine, Rockland leaders decided to step in.
County Executive Ed Day announced the activation of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) yesterday. The EOC was last opened more than three years ago. Staff from 19 county departments are pitching in to help assist seniors with finding appointments.
“This is work we are not required to do,” said Day. “Nor should we have to do.”
The Office for the Aging began helping seniors soon after vaccines became available, as sign-ups were limited and appointments were mostly booked online.