Garnet Health Medical Center Partners with Orange-Ulster BOCES to offer Vaccination Clinic to Students

Garnet Health Medical Center, formerly Orange Regional Medical Center, has partnered with Orange-Ulster BOCES (OU BOCES) to vaccinate nearly 200 Career and Technical Education (CTE) and Special Education students in a clinic on Tuesday, April 27, at the Emanuel Axelrod Education Center in Goshen, NY. OU BOCES is also collaborating with Garnet Health Medical Center to bring vaccination clinics to other school districts throughout Orange County.

“We are proud to partner with Orange-Ulster BOCES to provide vaccinations to students,” said Chris Costello, Director of Occupational Health and Wellness at Garnet Health.” As part of our continued commitment to the community, we know the importance of safeguarding our adolescents by making sure they are protected.”

At the event on Tuesday, 191 students received their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTechCOVID-19 vaccine, which is approved for people age 16 and over. CTE Security Careers Academy students helped direct the flow of students to the gymnasium where the clinic was held.

“It was a privilege to work with the team from Garnet Health Medical Center to provide an opportunity for our students to have access to the vaccine,’’ said OU BOCES Assistant Superintendent Deborah McBride Heppes. All students who received the vaccine had parental consent.

Middletown High School will be vaccinating students on May 4 and May 25. Monroe-Woodbury and Pine Bush will also be vaccinating students soon.

“Creating a clinic environment within our school that was comfortable and safe for our students was our top priority,” said OU BOCES Director of Operations Mark Coleman. “Working collaboratively with the Garnet Health Medical Center operational and technology staff made this day successful for our families and their children who needed access to the vaccine.”

The Garnet Health Medical Center vaccination team consists of:

• several vaccinators
• two registrars
• one pharmacist
• one vaccine venter leader
• one physician
• one post-vaccination nurse observer 

For more information on vaccinations, visit https://www.garnethealth.org/coronavirus

About BOCES

Board of Cooperative Educational Services, is a regional public education service organization. Established in 1948 by the state legislature, BOCES provides high-quality, cost-effective educational services to school districts in New York State. BOCES also provides special education, career and technical education, adult education, professional development, instructional services, educational technology support, library services and a number of management services for component school districts. There are 37 BOCES statewide. Orange-Ulster BOCES first provided services to component districts in 1957 and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2007. For more information, visit ouboces.org