CONVENT - St. James Parish government issued a Thursday (Jan. 28) morning press release stating its intentions to partner with St. James Parish Hospital and local leaders to streamline the vaccination process by assisting with registration and transportation services.

St. James Parish President Pete Dufresne explained that a recently established call center will assist residents who do not have access to a computer in registering and scheduling a vaccine appointment. The call center will be jointly manned by both Parish employees and hospital representatives.

“We are very excited to have St. James Parish Government on board to continue the vaccination process we kicked off in December. Partnering with local officials moving forward allows us to further expand our efforts. We are hopeful this is the beginning of the end of the pandemic in St. James Parish,” Mary Ellen Pratt, St. James Parish Hospital CEO.

To ensure that patients without transportation can be inoculated, St. James Parish Government will provide these individuals with transit services. Additionally, vaccination points of distribution (PODS) have been established on both banks of St. James Parish, allowing for ease of access to all residents.

St. James Parish Hospital has issued nearly 1,000 vaccines since mid-December, 70% of which have been given directly to the community. Vaccines are distributed as they are received and based on the Louisiana Department of Health vaccine plan phased distribution.

President Dufresne noted, "With over 1600 people in hospitals statewide, it is more important now than ever that we remain focused in stopping the spread of covid-19, and we have an opportunity to do that by getting vaccinated" he continued, "We do not want anyone unable to receive the vaccine due to inability to register or lack of transportation, which is why I have offered our services to assist in the process.”

For more information or to register online visit www.sjph.org/vaccine or call 225-258-2010.