Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Los Alamos health council hears updates on LAUNCH events, resource directory and a successful drive‑through vaccine clinic
Loading...
Summary
Council members and community partners briefed the Los Alamos County Health Council on LAUNCH events (fundraisers and 'Paint the Tunnel'), work on a master health-resource directory, upcoming Medicare open enrollment assistance and a drive-through flu clinic that delivered 460 vaccines.
Brandy, program manager for the Los Alamos Community Foundation, urged council members to help publicize LAUNCH (Los Alamos Uniting for Community Health) events, including a free fundraiser concert on Oct. 16 at Duane Smith Auditorium (donations welcome) and a community art event, 'Paint the Tunnel,' on Oct. 9 from 4–6 p.m. "It is a program that many of our nonprofits in town are working on to promote better health and wellness in the community," Brandy said, offering to coordinate volunteers and hand out flyers.
Council members discussed a planned master resource directory led by Celeste, who said the working group is cataloging regional services (Los Alamos, Espanola, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Taos) and aims to publish both an online and an annually updated paper version. "First, we're just trying to find what's out there. And second, we're trying to figure out how we're gonna compile all this and present it in a form that's usable," Celeste said, inviting non‑council volunteers to help build and maintain the directory.
Stephanie from the Aging and Disability Resource Center announced fall Medicare open enrollment assistance for residents: Oct. 15–Dec. 7 with one‑on‑one help at the Betty Ehart Senior Center on Oct. 15 and White Rock Senior Center on Oct. 17 (10 a.m.–3 p.m.).
Joyce Richards reported an "extremely successful" drive‑through flu clinic, describing vaccine delivery problems from the manufacturer that required staff to procure doses from Las Cruces; the event ultimately administered all doses available and later reported a total of 460 vaccines given. "We gave every single vaccine we had," Joyce said, noting the clinic also served more than 50 children ages 9 and older.
Staff provided operational updates: social services is monitoring potential federal shutdown impacts on benefits, a new part‑time health‑care specialist (Lori Padilla) started and the council will present its annual update to County Council on Oct. 21. The council approved the minutes for the prior meeting after a minor spelling correction was noted.
Council members asked staff to circulate flyers, compile handouts and distribute corrected minutes. Several attendees volunteered to help with outreach at farmers markets and community events.
Next steps: organizers will send event blurbs and volunteer materials to council staff for distribution; county presentation scheduled for Oct. 21 will summarize the council's annual work.
