Uptown Bilingual COVID Hotline Wins Award For Pandemic Work

UPPER MANHATTAN, NY — An Upper Manhattan-based organization that provides social services to Washington Heights and Inwood residents was just recognized at the inaugural NYC Imagine Awards for launching a bilingual COVID-19 vaccination scheduling hotline earlier in the pandemic.

The Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation won the award for its Northern Manhattan Bilingual Vaccine Hotline that proactively reaches residents in Upper Manhattan, Harlem and the South Bronx who have limited access to technology or language barriers using English scheduling services, to help them make appointments to receive the COVID vaccine.

"This award represents the resiliency of our community and our ability to thrive during stressful circumstances,” said Maria Lizardo, Executive Director of NMIC, in a news release. “NMIC is honored to have worked with NewYork-Presbyterian on making the COVID-19 vaccine accessible to our most vulnerable community members.”

Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation also was awarded $5,000 for winning the NYC Imagine Award.

The hotline, which is still up and running, was tailored specifically to the LatinX community. Since March 1, 2021, more than 27,000 vaccine appointments have been made through the hotline and over 35,000 outreach calls have been made to community members to encourage vaccination.

The hotline was launched on Feb. 23 by the Northern Manhattan Corporation and NewYork-Presbyterian.

Earlier this year, Patch profiled Washington Heights resident Jasmine Santana, who was inspired by the memory of her grandfather to start working at the hotline. Santana's grandpa died from the virus in January 2021.

"I am a very community-based person, so in being born and raised here, I know how often Black and Brown Spanish-speaking immigrant folks are overlooked," Santana told Patch in March. "I saw with my loved one how folks really had a lack of access in vaccines, particularly elderly folks who aren't as well versed with technology. It just made sense as a bilingual native speaker to do everything in my power to help people with the language barrier."

You can find out more details about eligibility on the Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation's website.

Read More: Inspired By Grandpa, Wash Heights Woman Helps Vaccine Effort