KING CITY, CA. — Mee Memorial is using a portion of a grant awarded from the Federal government to hire a vaccination assistant and another portion to install four billboards along the Highway 101 corridor to encourage the unvaccinated to step up for a shot — areas where much of its patient population travels to and from work. Billboards would be installed from Soledad to San Ardo to get the vaccination message out as education and outreach. San Ardo and Soledad areas have the lowest levels of vaccination rates in Monterey County.
In addition to commercial billboard space, the King City Lions Club has partnered with Mee Memorial in the spirit of public health education, to rent their prominent billboard near the King City Golf Course and the Soledad Chamber of Commerce is leasing their billboard near Front Street in Soledad — which will be installed in early February. The boards have an audience reach of over 600,000 per month.
The promotion features members of the community that have been vaccinated and appeal to those who might still be unvaccinated and/or are vaccine hesitant. Diverse members of the community who support and model getting vaccinated have volunteered to participate. One concept is “Together we can do it” — a riff off the Rosie the Riveter campaign from World War II, with various leaders, representatives and influencers from the diverse populations that make up South County. The theme for those aged 5 to 18 is showcases athletes who are “Vaccinated and unstoppable.”
Each person wears wardrobe or gear that represents who they are or what they do. Participants include Supervisor Chris Lopez of Greenfield, Greenfield Firefighter, Director Family, Morale, Welfare & Recreation at Fort Hunter Liggett and a number of healthcare workers, community members, patients, teens and children.
Mee Memorial received a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Rural Health Clinics Vaccine Confidence Program (RHCVC) Grant, in August 2021.The RHCVC Program is a federal initiative to improve vaccine confidence and to counter vaccine hesitancy in rural communities where the COVID-19 vaccine uptake has lagged in comparison to more populated areas.
The program also aims to address health equity gaps by offering support and resources to medically underserved rural communities. The RHCVC Program supports vaccine outreach in rural communities by:
Helping to increase vaccine confidence and uptake
Reinforcing basic messages about prevention and treatment of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases
Accessing vaccinations
Education and outreach efforts around vaccine benefits and safety
Vaccine promotion
Providing information to rural residents about how and where to get vaccinated
HRSA made grant awards to organizations based on the number of certified clinic sites they operate.
About Mee Memorial Healthcare System
Of highest priority for the Mee Memorial Healthcare System (MMHS) is keeping our community healthy. This includes offering an extensive array of medical and preventative services with a commitment to the highest possible standards, the best available technology, and the care of skilled professionals.
The Mee network includes a hospital in King City including emergency services, 25 acute care beds and 48 skilled nursing beds, and three comprehensive outpatient clinics; two adjacent to the hospital (Adult Medicine and the King City Clinic, for Internal, Pain and Family Medicine) and the Albert and Donna Oliveira Clinic, a full-service, primary care facility in the city of Greenfield.
MMHS is the primary healthcare organization serving the rural communities of Southern Monterey County. Overall, our healthcare professionals serve a population of nearly 80,000 within an area spanning over 55 miles between the agricultural communities of Soledad to Bradley.
Learn more at https://meememorial.com/ or call (831) 385-6000.
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