US Congress Recognizes NJIT for Providing Mobile Vaccination Center in Queens

New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) was recognized by the 117th United States Congress for its role in providing a mobile medical care unit (M2CU) to aid in COVID-19 vaccination and testing.

The M2CU was developed through a collaboration by NJIT, University Hospital in Newark and The Tuchman Foundation in response to the extreme challenges to clinical capacity posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The modular, mobile medical care facilities were designed to be deployed to areas of surging disease outbreaks and other disasters, as well as to regions that lack health care infrastructure.

Unveiled in Astoria Houses in April 2022, the M2CU offered residents a much-needed neighborhood medical center. At the time, there were no vaccination sites within a half mile of Astoria Houses — a low-income housing complex that consists of 24 buildings supporting a resident population of 3,100, with seniors accounting for a large percentage.

The deployment of the Astoria-based M2CU was made possible through year-long collaboration with U.S. Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, New York City Housing Authority, New Jersey Institute of Technology and The Tuchman Foundation.

“I believe these cargo units will be a phase of the future in how we respond to emergencies, and it’s an emergency now … it’s a crisis,” Maloney said at the unveiling, who pushed to have an M2CU in every NYCHA development in her district.

It was Maloney, who was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992, who rose in Congress on Friday, Oct. 28, 2022 to put NJIT in the official congressional record. Her recognition is below and can be found on the Congressional Record website:

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the New Jersey Institute of Technology for its incredible work, expertise, and assistance in creating and transporting a temporary medical care unit to Astoria Houses for COVID-19 vaccinations and tests.

The New Jersey Institute of Technology has always been a hub for innovation, and this was made even more clear during the COVID-19 pandemic. In July 2020, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, the University Hospital in Newark, and The Tuchman Foundation collaborated to develop temporary medical care facilities to be placed in areas with COVID-19 outbreaks and other disasters as well as regions without adequate health care infrastructure.

These containers are 32 by 40 feet long and were made from recycled shipping containers. When I heard about this incredible creation, I reached out to see if we could work together to bring one of these units to Astoria Houses in New York's Twelfth Congressional District, which I have the privilege to represent.

At the time, there were no vaccination sites within half a mile of Astoria Houses, and of the vaccination sites within a mile of Astoria Houses, none of them had vaccines in stock. With limited public transportation options to reach the existing vaccination sites, residents were forced to walk, which was not a practical option for many of the senior residents, who account for a large percentage of the development population.

But the New Jersey Institute of Technology came to the rescue and agreed to donate one of their units. Donating the unit was one thing but getting it from New Jersey to New York City was another whole process, and the New Jersey Institute of Technology was instrumental in coordinating logistics, including a truck and a crane.

Health care is and should always be a human right, and the New Jersey Institute Technology helped to make that a reality for so many New Yorkers by creating and providing this health care unit to the people of Astoria Houses.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the amazing work being done by the New Jersey Institute of Technology and look forward to seeing what inventive projects they come up with next.