By Benjamin Cox on December 17, 2020 at 10:12am
Deployment of the Pfizer COVID vaccine began yesterday afternoon throughout the Memorial Health System. MHS representatives said the vaccine arrived shortly after 12:30PM yesterday, with Passavant Area Hospital’s arriving shortly after.
Jennifer Harris, who has been the planning section chief for MHS’s Instant Command System for the pandemic, says that they have been working with local health departments throughout their hospital system preparing for deployment and administration for the last several months.
Harris says that the vaccine was allocated by the Illinois Department of Public Health based on population deaths per capita. She says the allocations of the vaccine were given by county, and in some cases county health department’s allocated their shipment to an area hospital. Harris says Passavant and the Morgan County Health Department are the best example of this in their system, with the local healt
Neighbors remember fire victim as kind
Samantha McDaniel-Ogletree, smcdaniel@myjournalcourier.com
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A representative of the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Office looks Wednesday at the ruins of a home at 347 Sandusky Ave. after a fire destroyed the structure and took the life of Robert R. Hembrough.Samantha McDaniel-Ogletree | Journal-Courier Show MoreShow Less
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Firefighters work to extinguish a blaze that started just after midnight Wednesday at 347 Sandusky Ave.Dennis Mathis | Journal-Courier Show MoreShow Less
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Though he was known to keep to himself, Robert “Rob Roy” Hembrough also was known by his neighbors to be a kind man.
By Benjamin Cox on December 17, 2020 at 10:25am
More details have been released about a fire that claimed the life of a 63 year old man in Jacksonville early yesterday morning.
Jacksonville Fire Chief Doug Sills says when firefighters from South Jacksonville and Jacksonville arrived to the scene at 347 Sandusky Street shortly after midnight, they were met with the female occupant of the home and a neighbor indicating that 63 year old Robert Hembrough did not make it out of the house. Sills says the home was fully involved upon arrival with flames shooting 30-40 feet in the air and smoke was coming from all available orifices of the home. Sills says after speaking with the two individuals, two firefighters entered the back of the home and were able to remove Hembrough from the burning structure. With the help of LifeStar EMS, they began an attempt to revive Hembrough on the scene but were ultimately unable to do so. Hembrough was pronounced dead at the scene by Mor
Passavant receives its first 440 vaccines
Darren Iozia, darren.iozia@myjournalcourier.com
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Passavant Area Hospital received 440 Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines on Wednesday afternoon and is ready to administer them to staff starting as early as today.
“This is quite the historic day in our history,” Jennifer Harris, Memorial Health Systems planning section chief, said Wednesday during a new conference. “We just received our shipment about an hour ago.”
The doses arrived thawed, giving the hospital five days in which to administer them.
“It has to be used up within one hour of being drawn from the vial,” Harris said, adding that one vial of the Pfizer vaccine contains five doses.
Food distribution set for Friday
Samantha McDaniel-Ogletree
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Dot Foods, Central Illinois Foodbank and Passavant Area Hospital’s Healthy Jacksonville program are sponsoring a free, drive-up food distribution at 3 p.m. Friday at 241 W. Lafayette Ave.
People are asked to wear a mask and make sure a space in the trunk of the vehicle is clear.
The distribution is open to everyone and walk-up service is available.