Coming on the heels of a visit last month by Governor Murphy, Assemblyman Lou Greenwald of District 6 visited CHEMED Health Center today to see firsthand the impressive work going on to combat COVID-19. Assemblyman Greenwald arrived at 1:30 and met Dr. Dovid Friedman, CEO, along with Lakewood Deputy Mayor Menashe Miller. Also accompanying him were Jeff Behm, Senior Strategic Executive; Yaakov Schwartz, CIO; and Sarah Sternbach, Executive Director of the Lakewood Resource and Referral Center.
Assemblyman Greenwald toured the expansive CHEMED building which houses an impressive list of primary care departments, including Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Women’s Health, Dentistry, an Urgent Care and an on-site Pharmacy. He heard about heated tent outside where covid testing is currently being administered. An astonishing 110,000 covid tests have been administered to date at CHEMED. In addition to the covid testing, CHEMED recently started administering monoclonal antibodies on-site to those who are at risk of severe sickness.
Although time constraints did not allow for Assemblyman Greenwald to visit the vaccination site, Dr. Dovid Friedman described to him the current setup of the site, recently re-located to The Woodlake Country Club. The efficiency of the vaccine operation is evident based on the 1500+ vaccines being administered there daily. Seniors unable to easily get out of their cars are conveniently vaccinated in a drive-thru vaccine tent. Others can go inside where there are dozens of booths waiting to accommodate the hundreds of patients with appointments each day. Even with the high numbers being vaccinated daily, patients consistently reported short wait times. Once the vaccine is received, patients walk over to the observation area, stay for 15 minutes, and are then free to go. The sheer scope of the vaccine operation organized through CHEMED is mind-blowing.
Assemblyman Greenwald sat down with Dr. Dovid Friedman and the others in CHEMED’s spacious Board Room to discuss public health concerns affecting the communities that CHEMED serves. Assemblyman Greenwald commented on his impressions of CHEMED’s operations, “The commitment to excellence and patient care never ceases to amaze me when I visit CHEMED. I love seeing how the facility caters to the needs of every segment of the community. That’s an important part of healthcare that’s sometimes overlooked.”
[Press Release]