Bergen New Bridge Launches 3rd COVID Vaccination Program

PARAMUS, NJ — Bergen New Bridge Medical Center began vaccinating long-term care residents on Wednesday, marking the third concurrent vaccination effort at the Paramus hospital.

With New Jersey’s largest licensed nursing home on its campus, Bergen New Bridge began its LTC Vaccination Program for long term care staff and residents today.

The program is part of the federal Pharmacy Partnership for Long Term Care (LTC) Program administered through CVS and Walgreens.

Long term care resident and President of the LTC Family Council, Bob Cole, was the first resident to receive the vaccine. Cole was also the Medical Center’s 100th recovered COVID-19 patient.

When asked why he got the shot, Cole said, "I want to stay healthy and keep everyone else healthy too," according to a news release.

Visconi added that for her and for the more than 400 long-term care residents "this is an exciting moment."

"Vaccinating them and the staff that cares for them is a crucial step in providing our residents protection from the virus and moving them one step closer to being with their loved ones again," said Visconi.

In addition to today’s newly launched long term care program, the medical center began vaccinating its staff with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine on Dec. 18.

On Monday, after receiving 1,000 initial doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, and in partnership with the County of Bergen, New Bridge began vaccinating other healthcare personnel in the 1A vaccination category, according to a Wednesday news release.

The program has already reached registration capacity, with 1,000 1A healthcare and EMS personnel receiving their shots. Scheduling will open again when additional vaccine doses are received from the state.

For distribution, the county will utilize the Annex Alternative Care Facility, a temporary hospital constructed by the Army Corps of engineers with assistance from FEMA earlier this year. That facility was originally planned to house additional patients, but can now be used to administer over 300 vaccinations per day, the county said.

"Our residents are excited to receive the vaccine," said Katie Richardson, Bergen New Bridge Medical Center Chief Long Term Care Officer.

"They want to be able to hug their loved ones, interact with their fellow residents at community events, and enjoy all the things they have missed during this pandemic. For us, we want to keep them safe, and this vaccine will help us do just that."

According to Gov. Phil Murphy's office, New Jersey already has 291 long-term care facilities scheduled and over 83,000 residents and staff slated to receive vaccinations through the beginning of February 2021, with more sites to be added in the coming weeks.

In Paramus, vaccinations also began at the Veterans Memorial Home this week, according to a Patch report.

Residents and staff of the Paramus Veterans Memorial Home began receiving vaccinations Monday and vaccinations are scheduled to begin over the course of the next week at the Menlo Park and Vineland Veterans Memorial Homes. These vaccinations are also part of the federal Pharmacy Partnership.

"The immense relief is palpable," said Lisa Hou, D.O., Interim Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. "For our Veterans, our staff, and our National Guard members on duty, we have nothing but gratitude for the tireless work of the medical and scientific communities who have cracked the coronavirus code. COVID-19 has disrupted everyday life to an almost unfathomable degree. Department staff, Soldiers, and Airmen have worked around the clock for the health and comfort of our Veterans and their families. With an efficacious vaccine against this deadly virus, we finally have the strongest tool to bring some relief to our homes."

Residents and staff will receive the 2nd dose of the vaccines three weeks after the first dose.

READ MORE: COVID-19 Vaccinations Begin At NJ Veterans Memorial Homes

In Wyckoff, Christian Health Care Center announced that they've partnered with CVS for their vaccine rollout, but not through the federal Pharmacy Partnership.

As of Dec. 23, the facility had yet to receive the vaccine, but said they had "already begun preparing for safe and efficient processes, and have shared required documents with the families/sponsors of our patients and residents."

READ MORE: Wyckoff's Christian Health Care, CVS Partner For COVID Vaccine

Additional reporting from Russ Crespolini.

Thanks for reading! Keep up to date with what's happening in your community by subscribing to your local Patch newsletter here.

Have a news tip or press release you'd like to submit? Need to request a correction? Email montana.samuels@patch.com.