The COVID-19 Community Education Task Force was formed in January 2021 to bring information about vaccine and COVID-19 safety to the Baltimore community. The task force, comprised of Johns Hopkins employees and allies, coordinated and developed dozens of events, campaigns and resources between January and September of 2021. This report gives an overview of the many projects completed by the task force throughout that time.
Baltimore City & Johns Hopkins Medical Religious Partnership
Press Conferences
The Mayor’s Office and Johns Hopkins entered into a collaboration to advise houses of worship on strategies to safely reopen as coronavirus-related guidance evolved.
![Johns Hopkins staff participating in a press conference for WJZ-13](jpg/press-conferencesa7ef.jpg?h=440&iar=0&w=640&hash=BBCCDAD0BC437E6F0CC4856AC21840C3)
Education Event
As part of the medical-religious collaboration, a virtual event guiding faith-based organizations to reopen safely was held.
![A computer with images of a facebook post for a virtual education session](jpg/education-event0f3a.jpg?h=440&iar=0&w=640&hash=FDE9F3BBCB1051DFE0BFC920C24A1916)
Pilot Program Workflow and Engagement Process
Interested faith organizations could sign up to participate in the pilot COVID-19 recommendation program.
![A map of Baltimore City separated into four separate areas with the upper left being quadrant one, upper right is quadrant two, lower right is quadrant three, and lower left is quadrant four](jpg/pilot-program-workflow81ab.jpg?h=440&iar=0&w=640&hash=07DCEB05FEA4E3AF685C01EE9889D338)
Houses of Worship Served
The medical religious partnership has served 9 places of worship as of September 2021.
![Masked individuals in a house of worship](jpg/houses-of-worship-serveda7d2.jpg?h=440&iar=0&w=640&hash=38D6321A5FA137EC47D27091CAF7E48A)
Workgroup
A workgroup was created to oversee the partnership and coordinate with Baltimore City.
![Masked congregation in a house of worship listening to recommendations for reopening their house of worship](jpg/worksgroup6aae.jpg?h=440&iar=0&w=640&hash=E2B684D127542D171CB453049C12838D)
Learn More About the Baltimore City & Johns Hopkins Medical Religious Partnership
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The Mayor’s Office of Neighborhoods, Baltimore City Health Department and Johns Hopkins Medicine and University entered into a collaboration to advise houses of worship of all faiths on strategies to safely reopen as coronavirus-related guidance evolved.
On April 26 a press event featuring Sherita Golden, Panagis Galiatsatos, Mayor Brandon Scott, Commissioner Letitia Dzirasa and Bishop James Nelson, was held.
The press conference was covered by multiple area media groups, including:
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As part of the medical-religious collaboration, a virtual event guiding faith-based organizations to reopen safely was held May 25. It had the largest turnout of any that the Scott administration had hosted at the time. Lisa Maragakis, Lisa Cooper, Panagis Galiatsatos, and Sherita Golden served on the panel during this event.
An outline of the event and all recommendations can be found in our newsroom.
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Website and Sign-up Process
The Baltimore City Mayor's Office created a web form where interested faith organizations could sign up to participate in the pilot program. The website link was shared with community organizations and Baltimore City faith groups and promoted through internal Johns Hopkins communications channels.
Faith Organization Selection Process
Twenty houses of worship (approximately five from each quadrant of the city) were selected to participate in the pilot program. Factors including order of sign up, projected reopening date, size and current level of COVID-19 preparation were used to make selections.
Each city quadrant is defined in accordance with the following ZIP codes:
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Quadrant 1 (Purple): 21208, 21209, 21215, 21207, 21216, 21217, 21210, 21211
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Quadrant 2 (Blue): 21212, 21239, 21234, 21236, 21251, 21214, 21206, 21218, 21213, 21237
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Quadrant 3 (Green): 21202, 21287, 21231, 21224, 21222, 21225, 21226
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Quadrant 4 (Orange): 21229, 21223, 21201, 21228, 21227, 21230, 21225
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As of Sept. 20, 2021, the medical religious partnership has served 9 places of worship in Baltimore City including:
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Muslim Community Cultural Center of Baltimore
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Rebirth Tabernacles of Glory
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Union Baptist Church
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The New Metropolitan Baptist Church
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Providence Baptist Church
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Greater Gethsemane Ministries
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Ray of Hope Baptist Church
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Israel Baptist Church of Baltimore City
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The Seed Church
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A workgroup consisting of the following individuals was created to oversee the partnership and coordinate with Baltimore City throughout the process. The workgroup meets weekly and is led and managed by Nondie Hemphill and Jeanne Hitchcock.
Workgroup members include:
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Sherita Hill Golden, vice president and chief diversity officer, professor of medicine, JHM
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Jeanne Hitchcock, interim vice president, government and community affairs, JHU/JHM
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Lisa Maragakis, senior director of infection prevention, associate professor of medicine, JHM
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Lisa Cooper, director, Urban Health Institute, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor, JHU
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Panagis Galiatsatos, co-director, Medicine for the Greater Good and assistant professor of medicine, JHU
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Nancy Molello, program director-operations and strategic initiatives, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity
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Katie O'Conor, faculty, Departments of Anesthesiology & Critical Care Medicine and Emergency Medicine
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Selwyn Ray, director, community affairs, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center
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Nondie Hemphill, associate director, government and community affairs
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Chrystal Green, associate director, East Baltimore Community Affairs
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The Rev. William Johnson, community chaplain, Johns Hopkins Bayview
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Kimberly Monson, community program coordinator, Johns Hopkins Bayview
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James Biernatowski, administrative specialist
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Notable Speakers
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- Cheryl Jackson, midday host of UrbanOne’s Praise Baltimore and Praise DC
- Sherita Hill Golden, vice president, chief diversity officer, Johns Hopkins Medicine
- Panagis Galiatsatos, co-founder, Medicine for the Greater Good, Johns Hopkins Medicine
- Anthony Brown, gospel recording artist
- The Rev. Keith Battle, founder and senior pastor, Zion Church
- The Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley, senior pastor, Alfred Street Baptist Church
- Henry Davis III, pastor, First Baptist Church of Highland Park
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- Dana and MPECKABLE Peck, the AFRO event hosts
- Dudley Stevenson, singer, songwriter and producer
- Frances Toni Draper, chairman of the board and publisher of the AFRO American Newspapers
- Jay Brooks – comedian
- Sherita Golden, vice president and chief diversity officer, Johns Hopkins Medicine
- Brandon M. Scott, mayor, Baltimore City
- Panagis Galiatsatos, co-founder, Medicine for the Greater Good, Johns Hopkins Medicine
- Karsonya "Kaye" Wise Whitehead, American author and associate professor of communication, African and African American Studies at Loyola University Maryland
- David Kwabena Wilson, president of Morgan State University
- Sisqó – American singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer, actor and member of famed music group Dru Hill
- Kayode Ayodele Williams, medical director, Priority Partners
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Moderator: Ricardo Sánchez-Silva, senior editor and reporter, El Tiempo Latino newspaper
Panelists:
- Inez Stewart, senior vice president, human resources, Johns Hopkins Medicine
- Kathleen Page, associate professor of medicine, the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
- Sara Suarez, Emmy award-winning news director of Noticias Univision in Washington, D.C., and New England
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23,331
People Reached
UrbanOne Radio Event
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21,356
People Reached
AFRO Event: Viewership Statistics
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131,200
People Reached
El Tiempo Latino: Viewer Statistics
Our Task Force Leadership
Sherita Golden, M.D., M.H.S.
Co-Lead, COVID-19 Community Task Force
JHM Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Health Equity
![Sherita Golden](jpg/sherita-golden-horizontala451.jpg?h=440&iar=0&w=640&hash=C853C75A6A7968707F6CC8B5C512E1A4)
Jeanne Hitchcock, Esq.
Co-Lead, COVID-19 Community Task Force
JHU Office of Local Government and Community Affairs
![Jeanne Hitchcock](jpg/jeanne-hitchcock6842.jpg?h=440&iar=0&w=640&hash=4DFBBF724F533CA720D5A1E861FFD9DA)
Risha Irvin, M.D., M.P.H.
Partner, COVID-19 Community Education Task Force
JHU School of Medicine
![Irvin Risha](jpg/irvin-risha16c8.jpg?h=440&iar=0&w=640&hash=07E2F0D628382A00B9D8A449557B8805)
Katie O'Conor, M.D.
Partner, COVID-19 Community Education Task Force
JHU School of Medicine
![Katie O'Conor](jpg/katie-oconor-horizontal62dc.jpg?h=440&iar=0&w=640&hash=C814AC159F3770002ECAA608B9FC2133)
Joni Holifield
Partner, COVID-19 Community Education Task Force
Heartsmiles
![Joni Holifield](jpg/joni-holifield345b.jpg?h=440&iar=0&w=640&hash=AB6BCF00CED7F6F6D9D02A107645020A)
Katrina Caldwell, Ph.D.
Partner, COVID-19 Community Education Task Force
Johns Hopkins University
![Katrina Caldwell](jpg/katrina-caldwellbc07.jpg?h=440&iar=0&w=640&hash=3DA66B03C46637DB11C16530F9E0E132)
JHU/JHM Partners
April Lugo
JHM Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Health Equity
![April Lugo](jpg/april-lugo8727.jpg?h=440&iar=0&w=640&hash=6070DC4C774AE29DB71FA950EBB693DD)
Panagis Galiatsatos, M.D., M.H.S.
JHM Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Health Equity
![Panagis Galiatsatos](jpg/panagis-galiatsatos-horizontal756a.jpg?h=440&iar=0&w=640&hash=91BAC9A67C198F3E4496B7F8BB3F7B82)
Nondie Hemphill, J.D.
JHU Office of Local Government and Community Affairs
![Nondle Hemphill](jpg/nondie-hemphill9892.jpg?h=440&iar=0&w=640&hash=41CDFC0D26DB2DE9795A676D834289B0)
Chrystal Green, M.Ed.
JHU Office of Local Government and Community Affairs
![Chrystal Green](jpg/chrystal-greene573.jpg?h=440&iar=0&w=640&hash=CFDEDDEDDFFCC09B5F2982A87642FE61)
James Biernatowski
JHU Office of Local Government and Community Affairs
![James Biernatowski](jpg/james-biernatowski23b3.jpg?h=440&iar=0&w=640&hash=08F6AB2E9054235F951A759B56A73046)
Nancy Edwards Molello, M.S.B.
Urban Health Institute and Center for Health Equity
![Nancy Edwards Molello](jpg/nancy-edwards-molello-horizontal8773.jpg?h=440&iar=0&w=640&hash=7B0B8D20C7BF9E5A3FB71426B862835B)
Lisa Cooper, M.D., M.P.H.
Urban Health Institute and Center for Health Equity
![Lisa Cooper](jpg/lisa-cooper-horizontalded0.jpg?h=440&iar=0&w=640&hash=5186697238189E293EBFBF572ED930B8)
Maya Venkataramani, M.D., M.P.H.
Brancati Center for the Advancement of Community Care
![Maya Venkataramani](jpg/maya-venkataramanic103.jpg?h=440&iar=0&w=640&hash=8809CE10732CA798ACC2F500D1AC1B21)
Lindsay Rothstein, M.A.
JHM Marketing and Communications
![Lindsay Rothstein](jpg/lindsay-rothstein-horizontalb330.jpg?h=440&iar=0&w=640&hash=AF214A7F1F95506854C34E6CDC1B6D52)
Susan Krenn
JH Center for Communication Programs
![Susan Krenn](jpg/susan-krenna772.jpg?h=440&iar=0&w=640&hash=AD46BCCEE90D3812144686761F3BCFEF)
Jennifer Boyle, M.A.
JH Center for Communication Programs
![Jennifer Boyle](jpg/jennifer-boyle989c.jpg?h=440&iar=0&w=640&hash=3EF75EA2693EB46A1CF2F0BFFD22D88D)
Erica Nybro, M.P.H.
JH Center for Communication Programs
![Erica Nybro](jpg/erica-nybrof9d1.jpg?h=440&iar=0&w=640&hash=C4BFDA814358F597BAFADAE40C2901F1)
Kathleen Page, M.D.
JH Center for Salud/Health and Opportunities for Latinos
![Kathleen Page](jpg/kathleen-page-horizontaldbaa.jpg?h=440&iar=0&w=640&hash=55EA22CBF779BE2233425CE22C37188F)