Maine Seacoast Mission, in partnership with Northern Light Health, Spectrum Generations, and AgeWise Maine Initiative, will offer Covid vaccinations on Maine’s unbridged, outer islands this late November and early December. Vaccinations will be given aboard the nonprofit’s boat, the 74-foot Sunbeam, and at designated facilities on the islands. These vaccine clinics will take place between November 28 and December 5 on Matinicus, Monegan, Isle au Haut, Frenchboro, Great Cranberry, and Islesford.
“The Mission has a tradition of bridging the healthcare gap in our island communities,” says Mission President John Zavodny, “Made possible by our fall 2023 partners, this next round of clinics is our fifth effort in helping residents receive care without leaving their island.”
In consultation with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, county officials, hospital administrators, pharmacists, and island health workers, the Mission became a vaccine provider in winter 2021. To date, the Mission has administered over 1,000 Covid vaccinations. While the Mission’s health professionals conducted island vaccine clinics in the past, Northern Light will administer the vaccines this fall.
This effort is a collaborative partnership with Northern Light Home Care and Hospice, AgeWise Maine, and Spectrum Generations, the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) based in Augusta. Northern Light and AgeWise Maine offer immunization clinics in Maine communities. Thousands of residents can stay healthy and focused on doing the things they love.
AgeWise Maine, powered by USAging grant funding, is a collaboration of the state’s Agencies on Aging. Its mission to educate every Mainer age 60+ about the importance of staying up to date on immunizations, including Covid-19, Flu, RSV and Pneumonia vaccines. Northern Light Home Care and Hospice’s vaccine program targets vulnerable populations and underserved communities who cannot easily travel to traditional vaccination sites, including homebound individuals, children, remote communities, the unhoused, and non-English speakers. Spectrum Generations, the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) based in Augusta, collaborated with the Mission and Northern Light Health to create a solution to bring vaccines to Maine’s rural island communities.
Islanders interested in receiving a Covid vaccination should contact Sunbeam Nurse Simone Babineaux by email sbabineaux@seacoastmission.org before Tuesday, November 28. Please be prepared to share their name, island of residence, and whether they have insurance. All residents are eligible for the vaccine.
Learn more about the Mission’s Island Health program and the initiatives offered on Maine’s outer islands.