Vaccine event to follow homeless count

By Kirk Boxleitner
Posted 1/29/25

 

 

If you’re in need of vaccinations or other non-emergency medical services and you’re in the Port Hadlock area on Tuesday, Feb. 4, Bayside Housing and Services and …

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Vaccine event to follow homeless count

Posted

 

 

If you’re in need of vaccinations or other non-emergency medical services and you’re in the Port Hadlock area on Tuesday, Feb. 4, Bayside Housing and Services and the state Department of Health have you covered.

James Holthaus, director of housing and supportive services for Bayside, said he hopes the Feb. 4 vaccine event can serve two purposes, first by coinciding with the wake of the annual Point-In-Time Count of people experiencing sheltered and unsheltered homelessness, which is slated to take place on Thursday, Jan. 30, this year.

Holthaus hopes the vaccine event — from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Bayside’s Jefferson County MASH Clinic, 175 Chiumacum Road — will draw broader attention to the Jefferson County MASH Free Clinic, which opened in November and is open Mondays through Thursdays from 3-5 p.m. for drop-in medical assessments and referrals. No appointments are needed.

“The Care-a-Van will benefit our community by providing vaccines to both those who are unhoused and low-income residents,” Holthaus said. “The Jefferson County MASH Clinic also significantly benefits Jefferson County, by providing free medical services and mental health counseling.”

Marie Cartwright serves as the mobile health and outreach coordinator for the Care-a-Van, as part of the Department of Health’s Office of Healthcare Innovation and Strategy, and she emphasized that both COVID-19 and flu vaccines will be available at no cost to patients who are uninsured, with COVID vaccines also available at no cost to patients who are under-insured.

Cartwright elaborated that health Insurance information should be supplied by all insured patients, but noted that “we are unable to vaccinate patients with Kaiser or TRICARE insurance, because they are considered out of network, and we cannot bill them.”

Cartwright further clarified that the vaccine event’s blood pressure and blood glucose screenings will be “informational only,” as “we cannot diagnose.”

Bird’s Eye Medical will be the medical provider for the vaccine event, and Cartwright advised that pre-registration is “strongly encouraged,” as walk-ins will be accepted based on time and vaccine availability.

Cartwright explained that 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccines, from Pfizer and/or Moderna, may be available at the event, and requested that patients bring not only proof of their insurance, if available, but also whatever vaccine cards or records they might have, with waverify.doh.wa.gov providing copies that can be sent to your phone.

“Please note that this event may be subject to cancellation or rescheduling, due to inclement weather,” Cartwright said.