Pine Plains pharmacist and nurse honored for initiative
Along with retired nurse Kathy Bartles (not pictured), Pine Plains Pharmacy owner and pharmacist Nasir Mahmood was this year’s recipient of the Public Health Partnership Award for his work in coordinating the Pine Plains Pandemic Initiative. Photo submitted

Pine Plains pharmacist and nurse honored for initiative

PINE PLAINS — Week after week during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pine Plains Pharmacy owner Nasir Mahmood and retired registered nurse Kathy Bartles made sure residents in the region got tested and vaccinated.

The pharmacist and nurse helped bolster the overall wellness of their community and were rewarded for their efforts on Thursday, April 7, by the Dutchess County Board of Health (DCBOH). Both were honored with the 2022 Public Health Partnership Award.

Mahmood learned of the honor in a letter from the DCBOH on March 25. It said the award is given each year during Public Health Week (April 4 to April 10) to “an individual and/or agency performing essential public health services in recognition for their contributions to the health of the community.”

Mahmood and Bartles were both selected to receive the honor as they coordinated the Pine Plains Pandemic Initiative.

A press release from the Dutchess County Department of Behavioral & Community Health (DCDBCH) explained the initiative was designed in early 2021 as “a civic cooperative effort in response to the shortage of COVID-19 vaccine opportunities in the rural eastern and northern sections of Dutchess County.”

Right from the start, Mahmood said he and his staff at the Pine Plains Pharmacy on East Church Street (Route 199) realized the difficulty getting vaccines was a critical issue, especially as there was a vaccine supply shortage.

With Bartles, the DCBOH and the New York State Board of Health, he called the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) every week to constantly get updated information on the vaccine approval process and which vaccines were actually approved.

“We educated ourselves on those issues and I think that helped a lot,” Mahmood said.

Mahmood also said they developed relationships with county and state health departments and state and federal programs, which he said also helped them get COVID-19 vaccines quickly so they could turn around and provide shots to local residents.

Before long, he said people were coming to Pine Plains from different states to get the vaccine, including Connecticut, New Jersey and even as far as Maryland. As for COVID-19 testing, Mahmood said his pharmacy offers curb side testing by appointment on a near daily basis.

Reflecting on the amount of coordination it took to make all of this happen, Mahmood said it was a difficult task, but with the help of his son Rehen and his dedicated staff, they were able to pull it together.

He also said he had the support of the Pine Plains community in coordinating testing and vaccination efforts, from local government officials to those at the Pine Plains Free Library to the group of local nurses who volunteered to administer vaccines.

The DCDBCH also praised Bartles for mobilizing professional nursing colleagues and citizen volunteers to staff pop-up vaccine clinics, and for educating the public about immunizations.

It stated former town Supervisor Darrah Cloud supported both Bartles and Mahmood and helped keep the public informed about the pop-up clinics and volunteer opportunities via social media and her weekly newsletters.

The Pine Plains Fire Company also lent a hand to the initiative by letting the pharmacy host vaccine clinics at its firehouse, as did the Pine Plains Central School District. Clinics are still being held at Stissing Mountain High School’s gymnasium.

“Everybody chipped in — it was such a wonderful example of just one call brings everybody together,” Mahmood said. “It was a very rewarding experience.”

By the DCDBCH’s count, a total of 4,500 adults and children received COVID-19 vaccines, thanks to the Pine Plains Pandemic Initiative.

Mahmood and Bartles were presented with the Public Health Partnership Award at a Dutchess County Legislature meeting on Thursday, April 7, at 5:30 p.m.

“It was very nice to be recognized,” Bartles said on being a recipient of this year’s Public Health Partnership Award.

Accepting the award on behalf of his staff, son, community and all other independent pharmacists, Mahmood said, “We are really humbled by this gesture and we’re proud we could work together with them.”

Bartles later noted that Mahmood also accepted the award on behalf of the Medical Reserves Corp (MCR) volunteers who arranged COVID-19 clinics for Dutchess County residents at the JCPenney site in Poughkeepsie and at the Dover Union Free School District.

A Public Health Partnership Award also went to the MCR Coordinator Joseph Ryan for his leadership throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

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