Mission Clinic Team Heads Out Again to Great Cranberry, Islesford
NORTHEAST HARBOR, ME – The Mission Covid-19 vaccination clinic team heads out this morning aboard the mailboat, Sea Queen, for clinics on Great Cranberry island and Islesford.
Swan’s Island Covid Vaccination Trip – Feb 25
L-R – Douglas Cornman, Sharon Daley, Maureen Giffin, John Zavodny. 
Donna Wiegle with Mission sticker. 
Sharon Daley and Tammy Tripler. 
Sharon and Maureen loading syringes.
NORTHEAST HARBOR, ME — On the windy, brisk, February 25th, Mission Island Health Services Director Sharon Daley, MDI Hospital nurse Maureen Giffin, Mission Island Outreach Director Douglas Cornman, and Mission President John Zavodny eased their car onto the Swan’s Island ferry to deliver their first Covid-19 vaccination clinic since partnering with the Maine CDC and local hospitals. And there was no better way to do it than by teaming up with Executive Director Donna Wiegle and the Swan’s Island Mill Pond Health Clinic.
For weeks beforehand, Sharon and Douglas went over the variables for launching a series of vaccination clinics for several remote Maine island populations. How to let islanders know, and then register them, for the clinics? Suppose we schedule a clinic and the weather rebels?
Receiving the vaccine depended on the weather too, plus the cooperation of other entities. There were already times went promised vaccine deliveries fell through for one reason or another, usually weather related.
Sharon and Douglas put in place a plan, a template for running the island clinics without a hitch. Would the plan work? Would it need revision?
Swan’s Island was the first chance for answering all those questions while in the field.
The clinic went off without a hitch. Sixty-one people were vaccinated. Sharon Daley told one reporter, “It feels like a big party because everybody is so happy to get this vaccine and it is a real sign of hope.”
President Zavodny, who was taking notes, pictures, and assisting with registrations, sent back to the Mission an 11:45 am email. He said, “System’s working well. Folks are showing up early and are very excited and grateful to the Mission and to the Health Center here.”
Maine Seacoast Mission’s Thomas Thompson had designed “I got my Covid-19 vaccination!” stickers. They were a real hit with clinic goers. EMT Tammy Tipler’s carnations were the perfect touch to send each individual on their way.
At day’s end the Swan’s Island clinic was, in every way, a success.
Next, the Mission crew aboard the Mission boat Sunbeam, with nursing assistance and a Boston Globe photographer, would host four clinics for four islands over two days. Sixty-one down, 147 to go.
Video – Monhegan Covid-19 Vaccine Trip – March 3, 2021
NORTHEAST HARBOR, ME — On the March 3, 2021 Covid-19 vaccination clinic for Monhegan Island residents, Maine Seacoast Mission President Zavodny helped with registrations, took notes and photos. He also captured the flavor of the clinic in this short, self-narrated video.
Boston Globe – On Remote Maine Islands, a Mission to Vaccinate
On remote Maine islands, a mission to vaccinate
By Brian MacQuarrie Globe Staff,Updated March 9, 2021, 7:29 p.m.
MATINICUS, Maine — The two dozen winter residents of Matinicus Island, give or take a few, lined up off a muddy road, distanced and masked, many wearing the plaid flannel shirts, paint-spattered jeans, and fisherman’s waders that could pass for a uniform here.
It was COVID-19 vaccination day on Matinicus, which lies farther in the Atlantic Ocean than any other inhabited island of the United States. And everyone was welcome. All ages, all health conditions, and all who were motivated to protect one another in a remote place about 20 miles from the mainland.
“We know the virus can come with anybody,” said George Tarkleson, the 66-year-old town manager of the rugged island, whose population swells to about 125 in the summer.
Newsweek – COVID Vaccinations for Maine’s Remote Island Residents Arrive Via 74-Foot Boat
Newsweek – U.S.
COVID Vaccinations for Maine’s Remote Island Residents Arrive Via 74-Foot Boat
BY JENNI FINK ON 3/9/21 AT 1:38 PM EST
A team of about 10 people is using a 74-foot vessel and their 100-plus years of relationship building to vaccinate some of Maine’s most remote island residents.
Islands off the coast of Maine swell with tourists in the summer, but the number of full-time residents can range from as little as a few dozen people to about 300. Traveling to the mainland to see a doctor can be a days-long trek, so the nonprofit Maine Seacoast Mission is setting up mobile vaccination clinics to bridge the health care gap.
“The weather on the ocean right now is at its roughest, so from that perspective it’s a little bit of a challenge,” John Zavodny, president of the nonprofit, told Newsweek. “[But] we have been there for these islands through generations of hope, success and struggle, and this isn’t even our first pandemic. We’re going to just keep going until everyone is vaccinated.”
New Online – The Bulletin – Winter 2021
Inside The Bulletin – Winter 2021
- Positive Impact of EdGE Programs
- Message from President John Zavodny
- Students Talk About Resilience
- Feeling Valued
- Strong Downeast Communities
- Hope Matters
- Resilience on the Islands
- Financial Report for Year Ending June 30, 2020