Outbreaks in nursing, assisted living homes drive Benzie County s COVID-19 deaths
Jan. 13, 2021
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Staff at The Maples Medical Care Facility get their first round of the COVID-19 vaccination. (Courtesy Photo) Show MoreShow Less
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A staff member at The Maples Medical Care Facility gets vaccinated against COVID-19. (Courtesy Photo) Show MoreShow Less
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About half of the staff at The Maples Medical Care Facility got their first round of the vaccine on Dec. 6. (Courtesy Photo) Show MoreShow Less
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BENZIE COUNTY As the number of new COVID-19 cases in Benzie County seem to be slowing down from the surge in November and December, the number of new deaths in the county have also slowed.
Munson Healthcare to Provide COVID-19 Update on Tuesday
January 11, 2021
You can view the press conference from 11-11:45 a.m. on 9&10 Plus.
Munson Healthcare Chief Medical Officer Dr. Christine Nefcy will be joined by Munson Healthcare Chief Marketing and Communications Officer and Vice President Dianne Michalek; Wendy Hirschenberger, Health Officer for Grand Traverse County Health Department; Dr. Jennifer Morse, Medical Director of District Health Department #10; Heidi Britton, CEO of Northwest Michigan Health Services; and Lisa Peacock, Health Officer of Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department and Health Department of Northwest Michigan
The six will be providing updates and taking your questions.
Excitement surrounding the vaccinations for COVID-19 reached Mason County in a tangible way Tuesday when a dozen staff members of District Health Department No. 10 in Ludington received the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine.
Anna Bateson, a public health nurse, is believed to be the first person in Mason County to receive the vaccine. She received it shortly before 3 p.m. Tuesday.
âI was told (Monday) that I would be eligible to get the vaccine (Tuesday),â Bateson told the Daily News roughly an hour after she received the first of the two doses of the Pfizer vaccine. âI was a little surprised how quick it went with the vaccine clinic. It was nice to get it done before we close for the holidays.â
Listen here
“[These are] some of the highest numbers we’ve seen since the pandemic started … so we are very grateful that we have a vaccine in sight,” said Munson Healthcare Chief Medical Officer Christine Nefcy.
Munson Healthcare will get 2,925 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which will go to staff across their hospitals in northern Michigan.
Some healthcare workers could get vaccinated as soon as Friday.
But doses are also going all over the region to small health clinics and county health departments.
Wendy Hirschenberger with the Grand Traverse County Health Department, says they’re slated to get 975 doses this week, which will go to first responders.
Hundley
TRAVERSE CITY â Grand Traverse County is looking to fill a new marketing and communications specialist position.
The county needs a person who is dedicated to the role, especially as the COVID-19 vaccination comes out and the public will be looking for information, said county Administrator Nate Alger. He has also been watching various departments scramble to meet deadlines.
âWe just need to have somebody who is the centerpiece and who is responsible for updating information or distributing information,â Alger said.
There is no one currently at the county who has both the ability and the time to manage and disseminate information and keep the website current, he said.