In June of 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its’ disparate impacts on BIPOC communities, Dr. Ward formed the Niagara Falls Health Equity Task Force.
Since June of 2020, the task force has met 72 times to identify community needs and to facilitate a collaborative, stakeholder-driven, pandemic intervention in proven-risk census tracts and neighborhoods. The goal of the Task Force is to reduce health disparities for vulnerable residents living in Niagara County. Our objectives include the tracking and analysis of Niagara County COVID-19 data (including both positivity rates and vaccination rates), the facilitation of community, residential testing that removes testing barriers, the facilitation of community-based vaccination clinics, the education of community members about prevention and early intervention measures as well as the COVID-19 vaccination, the facilitation of personal protective equipment (PPE) distribution, and the identification of growing and changing community needs related to the current pandemic.
For more information on the task force, please contact the project director at 716-286-8115.
Members of the Task Force
- Niagara University
- Niagara Falls City School District
- Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center
- Mount St. Mary’s Hospital/Catholic Health
- The Community Health Center of Niagara
- Niagara Organizing Alliance for Hope (NOAH)
- Field and Fork Network
- Niagara Ministerial Council
- 211 WNY
- Fidelis Care
- Catholic Charities
- Pinnacle Community Services
- The YWCA of the Niagara Frontier
- Neighborhood Legal Services
- The Niagara Falls Housing Authority,
- Create a Healthier Niagara Falls Collaborative
- Representative Brian Higgins Office (NY-26)
- Heart, Love and Soul
- Northpointe Council
- 1199SEIU Healthcare Education Project
- Community Missions
- Niagara Community Action Program
- along with various community members who are not tied to an organization