News

Meritus Health scheduled more than 250 appointments for the COVID-19 vaccination with Washington County residents ages 65 and older the first day a new call center opened.

“We are very excited to be able to offer this vaccine to our vulnerable senior population quicker than expected and look forward to continuing to get as many people in our community vaccinated for this virus in the coming days and weeks,” says Maulik Joshi, Dr.P.H., president and chief executive officer of Meritus Health.

The call center – only opened at noon on Wednesday, Jan. 6, but the line was popular and very busy. At the same time, external phone lines at Meritus Medical Center and several Meritus Health practices had some issues and the organization worked throughout the afternoon to troubleshoot those.

“We will continue working through the night with our phone carrier to increase call capacity to our call center,” says Joshi. “We ask that the public continue to have patience as we move as fast as we can to offer this access to the vaccine that is in high demand.”

Updated hours for the call center’s opening on Thursday, Jan. 7, will be posted midday on MeritusHealth.com and on the organization’s social media pages.

In addition, Meritus Health is currently identifying additional platforms for scheduling COVID-19 vaccine appointments in the very near future.

The COVID-19 vaccine will continue to be administered to priority audiences referred to the clinic by the Washington County Health Department through direction from the Maryland Department of Health.