More than 22,000 vaccinated at NMC’s Hagerty Center

TRAVERSE CITY — More than 22,000 area residents were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 at NMC’s Hagerty Center thanks to a four-month partnership between the college and the Grand Traverse County Health Department that wraps up this week.

Opened Jan. 18, the vaccination clinic was the first and, until late April, the only mass vaccination site in the county. It was integral to accelerating the pace of vaccinations in northern Michigan and considered a model statewide. Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist visited in March, and U.S. Sen. Gary Peters visited in May.

As of June 4, Grand Traverse County had 59.1 percent of eligible residents vaccinated (65.8 percent had received an initial dose), among the top counties for vaccination coverage in the state.

“Utilizing NMC’s Hagerty Center for a mass vaccination site was critical to increasing the pace of delivery of these life-saving vaccines to our community,” said Health Officer Wendy Hirschenberger. “Due to the public’s willingness to protect themselves and each other, after an extremely challenging 15 months, we now stand on the verge of returning to more normalcy.”

NMC did not charge the county for use of the facility, located on its Great Lakes campus. NMC nursing students also volunteered at the clinic in March and April. The clinic site also hosted two dedicated vaccination days for all educators in the five-county area in January and February, which helped schools remain mostly in-person throughout the winter and spring.

“COVID-19 is a community-wide challenge requiring a community-wide response. We at NMC feel it is both our responsibility and our privilege to support this effort and keep our residents safe,” said NMC President Nick Nissley.

Release date: June 9, 2021

For more information:

Diana Fairbanks
Executive Director of Public Relations, Marketing and Communications
dfairbanks@nmc.edu
(231) 995-1019