One year ago, New Jersey’s first presumptive case of the novel coronavirus was announced. Within days, our lives would be altered in ways we could not have imagined. Since that time, Inspira Health has supported the global effort to defeat COVID-19.

So little was known at first, and experts struggled to provide consistent guidance. Today we have many tools at our disposal, from everyday safety precautions, to effective treatments, and now vaccines. As of February 23, over 1.7 million New Jersey residents have been vaccinated.

Following nationwide delays, hospitals around the country are beginning to receive additional doses of the vaccine. As it arrives, Inspira will be offering new vaccination appointments on our website every Friday afternoon. The number of available appointments will be determined by the amount of vaccine we receive. Vaccinating our community is a priority, but please be patient as we continue to vaccinate South Jersey residents who are eligible under State guidelines.

Our team is excited for the opportunity to further protect our community. Just last week, we had the privilege of vaccinating a World War II veteran Eugene (Gene) Gravener at our Vineland hospital (pictured below, getting his vaccine). Born in Collingswood, Mr. Gravener traversed the Himalayas by air and land as a member of the Army Air Corps. Now, at age 100, he took a comfortable car ride to get his COVID-19 vaccine.

Although he lives with his son Bob in Southampton, he traveled to Inspira Medical Center Vineland because it was the first location with availability that his family members were able to find. He was pleased to get the appointment, but willing to wait his turn until health care workers and other frontline employees had their opportunity. He calls getting an appointment “a lucky break.”

Mr. Gravener began his military career as a medic and a truck driver, but volunteered to be part of the flight team where he served as a kicker, dropping supplies to troops on the ground. He earned a Distinguished Flying Cross and was awarded two Air Medals.

It’s an honor to work in health care and serve heroes like Mr. Gravener. Stories like his, and countless others, make us passionate about our jobs, and excited to care for our community.

Throughout our vaccination efforts, we have remained focused on providing an excellent experience for each patient.

This same focus can be found across our 150-plus service locations. To further our commitment to a seamless patient experience—rooted in clinical expertise, comfort, and compassion—we have added new features to our My Inspira app. The app allows our team to be there for you online, the same way we have always been there in person.

Through the app, you can manage your health online and via mobile devices more easily than ever before. So, what’s new on the app? With the new features, you can:

• We know passwords are hard to remember. Now log in using your fingerprint or FaceID! If you don’t want to use biometrics, you will be required to use an email address and your password to log in; a username will no longer be an option.

• The option to choose English or Spanish in the app and patient portal through your account settings.

• Using our new cost estimation tool, you can easily approximate out-of-pocket hospital procedure expenses.

• Security updates, including a self-service password reset option.

If you don’t already have the app, I encourage you to download it from the Apple Store or Google Play.