PERTH AMBOY — Mayor Helmin J. Caba has prioritized the City of Perth Amboy’s local public health pandemic by creating a COVID-19 Taskforce to provide a credible, effective response and common ground solutions. The taskforce, established in February 2021, consisted of key local, county and state leaders that led the mobilization efforts to increase access to vaccines that turned the tide of this pandemic for City of Perth Amboy residents.

The COVID-19 Taskforce consisted of:

• Office of the Governor, Phil Murphy
• Office of Population Health, New Jersey Department of Health
• Assembly Speaker Craig J. Coughlin
• New Jersey Senator, Joe Vitale
• Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez
• Middlesex County Commissioner Director, Ronald G. Rios and Commissioners
• John Carroll, Director, Office of Public and Government Affairs, Middlesex County
• Lisett Lebron, Chief of Staff, Office of the Mayor
• Larry Cattano, Deputy Chief of Police / Director of Office Emergency Management
• Dianne Roman, Supervisor of Housing and Social Services, City of Perth Amboy
• Kim Ruiz, CEO, Puerto Rican Association for Human Development Inc.
• Eva Kucaba, Supervisor of Nursing & Health Related Services, Perth Amboy Public Schools
• Steve Jobin, President/CEO – Raritan Bay Area YMCA
• John T. O’Leary, CEO, Jewish Renaissance Medical Center
• Late Tom Shanahan, COO/Hospital Site Executive, Hackensack Meridian
• Health Raritan Bay Medical Center
• William DiStanislao, Interim President, Chief Hospital Executive,
• Hackensack Meridian Raritan Bay Medical Center
• Barry Rosengarten, Chair, Perth Amboy Business Improvement District
• Damaris Ramirez, Mercy House, Cathedral International

The taskforce’s collective efforts led to the 88% vaccination rate, within 9 months (from February 2021 to November 2021).

The taskforce has been able to:

1. Increase access to vaccines with a COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout through Middlesex County, establishing the Middlesex County Vocational School as a supersite for vaccinations.
2. Jointly hosted over 40+ mobile vaccination clinics throughout the City of Perth Amboy with Middlesex County Department of Health, the Jewish Renaissance Medical Center, Hackensack Meridian Raritan Bay Medical Center, and local pharmacies.
3. Distributed educational materials about vaccinations and myths versus facts, established COVID-19 testing locations, created a dedicated city hotline, organized volunteers to canvass in the business district, and deployed a series of social media and website campaigns.
4. Fed roughly 27,000+ people with the distributed boxes/produce through the help of Middlesex County, MCFOODS, Community Food Bank of NJ, U.S. Foods and the NJ FEED initiative through the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.
5. Collaborated with 40+ partnerships including houses of worship, businesses, schools, and community non-profits

“This is the kind of daunting job that requires an enormous range of expertise and experience and a vast array of trusted partners,” said Mayor Helmin J. Caba. “The task force was perfectly suited to take on this kind of crucial, large-scale challenge, bringing together skills across all our programs and partnerships to safeguard the health of our residents.”

With the support of Governor Murphy, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez, Senator Joe Vitale, and Middlesex County Commissioner Director Ronald Rios, in preparing the State of New Jersey for large-scale vaccine delivery, the task force developed a grass roots approach that helped rapidly administer covid-19 vaccines.

“The support from Governor Murphy in deploying Community Health Ambassadors through the Office of Population Health with the New Jersey Department of Health, was an immense help forour residents in getting the information needed of the vaccines available, said Mayor Caba. “On behalf of the City of Perth Amboy, thank you for providing access, resources, and advocacy to get our families vaccinated.”

The taskforce initiative also aimed to support the timely and efficient delivery of vaccines to target groups such as health workers, essential workers, and the city’s aging and vulnerablepopulations. As an initial step, the task force organized activities with the Jewish Renaissance Medical Center and Hackensack Meridian Raritan Bay Medical Center with a dedicated city hotline for appointments, six days a week.

The Jewish Renaissance Medical Center (JRMC) also completed their same day patient care wing designed to further meet the community’s needs on COVID-19 while assuring that the City of Perth Amboy’s first infectious disease center meets all current state and federal requirements.

“The modernized wing provides the location and accessible care to all residents, while equipping our medical staff with the tools they need to deliver the highest-quality medical care,” said John T. O’Leary, Chief Executive Officer, JRMC. “Designed to respond to the overall patient experience in managing the COVID-19 virus and other infectious diseases, the new 1600 square-foot acute care wing focused on administering the COVID-19 testing and vaccinations on site.”

“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Perth Amboy has gone above and beyond to inform and help our community through their COVID-19 taskforce,” ,” said William DiStanislao, Interim President, Chief Hospital Executive of Hackensack Meridian Raritan Bay Medical Center. “Working together with all the City’s partners has helped increase vaccinations within our community.”

“The Raritan Bay Area YMCA is so proud to be working with a collective group of people and organizations that understand the importance of getting our residents and business owners the necessary information to make an informed decision to be vaccinated, said, Steve Jobin, Chief Executive Officer of the Raritan Bay Area YMCA. “Led by Mayor Caba, our network collectively understands the responsibility to care for the well-being of our neighbors and are focused on data-driven education and access to the various vaccines.”

The pandemic also exacerbated food insecurity, especially for families with children. The use of the city’s six food pantries increased. With the support of federal and state funding and volunteers, donations, 27,000+ people received food boxes/produce through the help of Middlesex County, MCFOODS, Community Food Bank of NJ, U.S. Foods and the NJ FEED initiative through the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

“This task force kept our organization informed of changes, pertinent information and benefits of programs our clients would have difficulty in finding out through weekly conference calls to share with our residents,” said Damaris Ramirez, Program Director at Cathedral Community Development Corporation. “It’s has been a great source of information for our organization and the people we serve.”

The taskforce continue their efforts by increasing access to vaccinations at city events and with community partners, including boosters for eligible residents.

For more information on vaccination locations, visit https://www.perthamboynj.org/community/news/announcements/vaccination_locations