COVID-19 Response Team, Sullivan County Public Health Services
- Pictured left to right:
Catherine Pacie, BS Ed, Public Health Educator/Rural Health Network Coordinator; Nicole Weall, Senior Typist; Jill Hubert-Simon, MS, Public Health Educator; Amanda Wolfe, RN, CHN, Immunization Coordinator; Wendy Salonich, PHS Program Coordinator; Vanessa Lescano, RN, CHN; Karen Holden, BSN, LNC, RN, Deputy Public Health Director; Haley Lankau, MS, Epidemiologist; Shannon Hornbeck, Public Health Educator, MRC Coordinator; Cindy Atkins, Administrative Assistant; Jenna Knox, RN, PHN, Health Emergency Preparedness Coordinator; April Novello, RN, SPHN - Not pictured:
Christina Haff, RN, CHN, MPH; Beverly Franskevicz, SPHN
Sullivan County's public health COVID-19 pandemic response from March 2020 through August 2022 included COVID-19 testing, case investigations, contact tracing, mass vaccination clinics (also known as Points of Dispensing or PODs), media updates on a routine basis, and prevention education. They also provided interpreters and translation services to a culturally and ethnically diverse rural population. The response team worked together as a cohesive group under the FEMA Incident Command System (ICS) structure for emergency preparedness. Staff and volunteers worked tirelessly to conduct critical disease control and prevention work during these unprecedented times. It has been a tremendous undertaking for a partial service, rural health department with a county population of 75,498 that swells to over 250,000-300,000 during the summer with tourism and camps. Census data shows that Sullivan is now the fastest growing county in New York at 1.5%. The influx of former New York City residents has continued since the pandemic began in 2020.
As of August 2022, Sullivan County has had 21,542 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 145 deaths from COVID since the beginning of the pandemic. A total of 17,859 vaccinations have been administered by the Response Team along with support staff from many other county departments, emergency services personnel, Garnet Catskills Medical Center nursing staff, and a newly formed Sullivan County Medical Reserve Corps which assisted with PODs at SUNY Sullivan, as well as schools, towns and villages, fire departments, and senior centers across the county. Home care nurses provided vaccinations to the homebound elderly through coordination with the Office for the Aging and the emergency community assistance center. Throughout the pandemic, the Sullivan County Covid-19 Response Team has shown true leadership and commitment to protecting their community.
