NEW ORLEANS — In partnership with the Louisiana Department of Education, Children’s Hospital New Orleans announced on Tuesday plans to serve as a resource for schools across Louisiana and to provide guidance on best practices, procedures, resources, and robust testing for COVID-19 as part of Children’s ThriveKids Student Wellness Project.
The list of school services available through Children’s Hospital now includes much anticipated vaccination against COVID-19.
“This is an important moment in our fight against COVID-19 and a reflection of Children’s Hospital’s ongoing commitment to do the right thing for kids,” said John R. Nickens IV, president and CEO of Children’s Hospital New Orleans.
“Children’s is dedicating significant resources toward vaccination for school team members because we know the faster we can vaccinate, the faster we can get back to normal learning environments for our children – a day we are all incredibly hopeful for.”
Last week, Children’s Hospital initiated a large, on-campus vaccination clinic, which the hospital is currently using to vaccinate school nurses and school team members age 70 and above, under Louisiana’s Phase 1B Tier 1 distribution guidelines.
“I remain inspired by the hard work our education and healthcare communities have done to ensure the health and safety of our teachers, students and families,” said New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell.
“It is vital that our educators are included in Phase 1B Tier 2 distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, they are essential to the City’s recovery and to the wellbeing of our children,” Cantrell continued. “Collaboration is critical and our city will continue to benefit from this type of partnership as we continue to recover from the pandemic.”
The hospital’s dedicated ThriveKids team is coordinating directly with schools now, including NOLA Public Schools, private, charter and parochial schools across the New Orleans area, to plan for widespread vaccination of all school team members as soon as Tier 2 distribution begins.
Children’s Hospital is providing a seamless solution for schools and is working to ensure that the COVID19 vaccine can be distributed as quickly as possible to school communities. Children’s Hospital is preparing to provide as many as 15,000 to 20,000 vaccines within the first 4-6 weeks of beginning Phase 1B Tier 2 distribution, as supplies allow.
To learn more about COVID-19 vaccine distribution for school team members, schools are asked to email thrivekids@lcmchealth.org or call 504.894.5109. For more information about the COVID-19 vaccine, visit www.lcmchealth.org/coronavirus/.
