COVID-19 infection rates in Massachusetts may be down overall but they remain stubbornly high in some communities, including Lynn. To keep cases down in these hard-hit spots, North Shore Medical Center (NSMC), Lynn Community Health Center (LCHC), the City of Lynn and Mass General Brigham have collaborated on a public education and outreach campaign to increase testing and encourage residents to remain vigilant about avoiding the disease.
For the past several months, NSMC has joined Lynn community partners to host a series of outreach events where residents can receive free COVID-19 testing and Care Kits containing masks, hand sanitizer, soap and information in multiple languages about avoiding COVID-19. To date more than 40,000 Care kits have been distributed to Lynn residents. NSMC is partnering with the City of Lynn to distribute an additional 15,000 kits in the upcoming weeks and with the Lynn Community Health Center to expand testing for area residents.
In addition, a “Keep Cases Down” public information campaign has launched and includes multilingual digital, billboard and social media advertising as well as personalized patient messages through the Mass General Brigham Patient Gateway system. These ads appear in Lynn as well as other communities and LCHC physician Carlos Cappas, M.D., Chief of Behavioral Health, is among the prominent community leaders featured in the campaign.
“We know that we can reduce COVID-19 infections if we continue to mask, practice hand hygiene, and maintain social distancing, says Tina McLoughlin, NSMC Manager of Community Benefits. “This campaign ramps up our efforts to deliver this message deep into our communities and in multiple language to ensure it is effective in diverse communities.”
The Mass General Brigham campaign is targeting communities where higher rates of COVID-19 are reported including Chelsea, Revere, Lawrence, Hyde Park, Mattapan, Mission Hill, Roxbury, Dorchester, East Boston, Lynn and Everett. The ads include animated videos in English, Spanish and Portuguese to reach communities hard hit by the virus.
North Shore Medical Center is a regional health care provider headquartered in Salem, Mass., and includes NSMC Salem Hospital, multiple outpatient facilities and the physician network known as North Shore Physicians Group. NSMC is a member of Mass General Brigham, an integrated healthcare system founded byMassachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. NSMC and Massachusetts General Hospital together provide care at the Mass General/North Shore Center for Outpatient Care and the Mass General/North Shore Cancer Center in Danvers. For more information, visit our website at nsmc.partners.org.