From the beginning, Baal Perazim Wellness & Health has emphasized the need to provide warm, welcoming, and culturally appropriate environments for individuals to access wellness & health resources. This led to the development of the Wellness Home concept, which is the foundation of our efforts to address disparity of health resources in marginalized communities. As an organization that has always sought to remove barriers to health care, Baal Perazim identified early on that access to COVID-19 tests, assessment, and vaccinations was a critical issue.
In order to meet the immediate and massive demand for Covid-19 testing in the Spring of 2020, Baal Perazim began offering PCR and Rapid tests through all of our Wellness Home locations, as well as fielding a mobile team that provided outreach services to group and assisted living homes. Our elderly are at the very highest risk of infection, and are often unable to travel easily due to their susceptibility and comorbidities. At its height, the demand for our testing and lab serviced resulted in our teams servicing 17 different senior living locations throughout the State of Illinois. Today, we are assisting with implementing testing programs for school districts and employers as employees and clients return to the workplace.
Our first Community Covid-19 Vaccination Center opened at 82nd and Kedzie, and was the first location in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood; it is staffed by individuals that reflect the backgrounds and cultural experiences of the residents we serve there. With the support of local political leadership, we aggressively promoted the opening of the Center and offered vaccinations during times that are practical for individuals living nearby. We also embarked on an aggressive outreach program, providing vaccines to individuals living in shared and congregate housing settings, as well as partnering with community churches to serve the homebound within their congregations. Partnerships with the area churches have been critical in being able to locate and support many members of this community who have limited familiarity with technology, which inhibits their ability to find and reserve vaccination appointments online.
We also embarked on an aggressive outreach program, providing vaccines to individuals living in shared and congregate housing settings, as well as partnering with community churches to serve the homebound within their congregations. Partnerships with the area churches have been critical in being able to locate and support many members of this community who have limited familiarity with technology, which inhibits their ability to find and reserve vaccination appointments online.
Currently, Covid-19 Vaccination Programs are operating out of four Wellness Homes in or near some of Chicago's most underserved neighborhoods and are accessible to public transportation. We continue to seek out opportunities to provide vaccinations to additional partners, including the following:
We also offer remote site-based testing and vaccination events. (Minimum participant numbers may apply.)
For more information about our Covid-19 Testing, Assessment, or Vaccination services, please contact j.michael@wellnesshome.org to learn more.