Neighborhood Family Practice Continues Efforts

Since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Neighborhood Family Practice (NFP) has targeted efforts to increase awareness, education and outreach and later, testing and vaccines, to at-risk and underserved community members. Those efforts continue today.

“Throughout the past year, we’ve worked independently, with state and local government, and other community partners to increase awareness and knowledge about COVID, along with access to testing and vaccines for the more vulnerable and underserved Black, Hispanic/Latino, low-income and refugee populations in our community – the very populations that have been disproportionately affected by the virus,” says Jean Poster, RN, MS, NFP’s president and CEO.

Since January 2021, NFP has:

•    provided 29,000 vaccinations to 15,000 individuals
•    4,250 shots since August
•    Conducted 100 community vaccination clinics with community partners

Along with participating in The Cleveland Community Health Centers COVID Services collaborative in partnership with the Cuyahoga County Board of Health, Cleveland Department of Public Health and local hospital systems, NFP partnered with LaSagrada Familia Church, the Hispanic Roundtable. Saint Paul AME Church and other local community organizations to prioritize the information and care provided to communities of color.

“It is not only our mission, but also our obligation as a federally qualified community health center to create and provide systems of care that are equitable and accessible to all Clevelanders,” says Polster. “Our COVID-19 outreach efforts were, and continue to be, very deliberate. We want to help reduce virus-related illness and death among those who are most at-risk.”

In these times when our country is faced with battling the ongoing pandemic along with racial disparity, NFP continues to fight to address both by providing COVID-19 outreach, education and more. Testing and vaccines (including pediatric and booster vaccines) are available by appointment at NFPs seven community health center locations on Cleveland’s near west side.

About Neighborhood Family Practice

Founded in 1980 in response to a concern that residents of Cleveland’s near west side lacked access to primary health care, NFP focuses on providing high quality primary care in the patient’s neighborhood setting. Today, its seven public transit friendly locations offer same day appointments to a service area that spans twelve neighborhoods across Cleveland’s west side and is comprised of a highly diverse mix of residents. Accredited by The Joint Commission and designated as a Patient-Centered Medical Home, Neighborhood Family Practice provides primary care, women’s health and midwifery services, behavioral health, dental and case management appointments to more than 21,000 patients at its combined locations. www.nfpmedcenter.org