ATLANTIC CITY – AtlantiCare hosted a celebration to mark the administration of its milestone 100,000th vaccination at the Atlantic County COVID-19 Vaccination Megasite Thursday afternoon.
The Atlantic City Convention Center — location of the Megasite, a collaborative effort between AtlantiCare and the state — erupted with much fanfare and applause from the AtlantiCare health care and Megasite operations team, as the patient receiving the 100,000th dose was escorted by a member of the New Jersey National Guard to the vaccination station. At 90 years “young,” James Plummer proudly presented his arm for the first dose of his vaccination—to him a huge step in being able to soon return to interacting with congregants at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, where he had been a deacon for 60 years.
James’s daughter made it a family affair by also getting vaccinated.
More than just recognizing the milestone administration of the 100,000 dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the Megasite, AtlantiCare saw the event as an opportunity to celebrate all the people who have come together to create an extremely smooth, efficient vaccine operation that—since opening on January 22—has been moving the community forward step-by-step to a return to normal. Currently, the Megasite is administering more than 3,000 vaccines daily. Thanks in large part to AtlantiCare’s robust initiative to reach elderly residents and underserved populations, it is expected that the Megasite will soon approach a daily vaccination total of 6,000 people.
James Plummer: milestone vaccine recipient, Atlantic County resident
• The 90-year-old Atlantic County resident is a former Administrative Assistant for the U.S. Army and played baseball for the Army as well as the Negro Baseball League.
• Mr. Plummer was reached and assisted in scheduling his vaccination by AtlantiCare’s Legacy Employee Resource Group, who works to ensure the population of people being serviced through the Megasite is diverse and inclusive.
• Mr. Plummer is excited to complete his vaccination process and become more social again.
• Mr. Plummer’s daughter, Anita Robinson, brought him to his appointment and was also vaccinated today.
Kaleena Ellis, BSN, RN: Vaccinator
• Kaleena has been part of AltantiCare’s Vaccination Megasite care team for seven weeks.
• She joined the team eager to do her part to help make a difference during the pandemic.
• Kaleena proudly administered the milestone 100,000 vaccine dose to Mr. Plummer
• AtlantiCare considers Kaleena an “Awesome team leader” at the Megasite and she looks forward to continuing her career with AtlantiCare after the pandemic.