As part of Cornell Cooperative Extension‘s (CCE’s) innovative work throughout New York State to stem the COVID-19 pandemic, CUCE-NYC’s community partnerships are helping create vaccine access in NYC neighborhoods.
CUCE-NYC has helped to lead community engagement work at Weill Cornell Medicine’s Clinical and Translational Sciences Center (CTSC) since CTSC’s founding in 2007. During a recent community engagement staff meeting, CUCE-NYC Executive Director Jennifer Tiffany learned that 70 Cornell medical students were trained and certified to administer COVID-19 vaccinations, but had nowhere to do so since the students were only available on evenings and weekends. One of CUCE-NYC’s main program offices is located within the Tree of Life Center in Jamaica, Queens. CUCE-NYC is a founding member of the Tree of Life Center partnership (TOLC). Seeing an opportunity, Tiffany contacted TOLC partners Rev. Patrick O’Connor, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Jamaica, and Bob Hayes, executive director of the Community Healthcare Network (CHN) of federally qualified health centers (FQHC) serving neighborhoods throughout NYC. CHN staff have been working tirelessly to administer vaccines and ensure equitable access. The offer of a cadre of medical students able to administer vaccines couldn’t have happened at a better moment.
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