UPMC Northwest’s vaccination clinic at the Cranberry Mall will serve as a regional clinic for a 10-county area, the state announced Wednesday.
Venango County Commissioner Sam Breene called the regional clinic designation both a great recognition of the clinic’s success at the former Bon-Ton site and also a great responsibility.
Commissioner Mike Dulaney said the Cranberry clinic will serve about 250,000 people within a 90-minute radius of the mall as the state accelerates through the remaining phases of the vaccine rollout.
He praised the UPMC Northwest staff for its dedication and “amazing” and professional work.
The state said it would like to see the clinic give out between 3,000 and 6,000 shots a week as a regional clinic, the commissioners said. The clinic is currently up to almost 3,000 vaccinations in a week, they added.
Breene also praised mall management for being very good to work with and getting things ready for the clinic in a very quick fashion.
Dulaney added that the Clarion University nursing students have also been helping out at the clinic.
“I’m proud of Venango County and everyone who made it happen. Getting this responsibility shows how well the clinic in the mall is doing,” Breene said.
The commissioners said they had been in contact with the state and were pushing for the clinic to become a regional site.
As soon as the state was asking counties about potential sites for a regional clinic, Commissioner Albert Abramovic told them UPMC Northwest’s clinic was the place to hold it, Breene and Dulaney said.
The commissioners said the location at the former Bon-Ton offered room for the clinic to grow as the need arose and the supply was there.
“The mall clinic will do the bulk of the heavy lifting for the region,” Dulaney said.
In addition to Venango, the other counties that will be served include Clarion, Forest, Crawford, Mercer, Warren, Butler, Jefferson, Lawrence and Erie.
“This doesn’t eliminate all other vaccination options, including the pharmacies,” Breene said.
Dulaney added that the federal government is planning to expand its partnership with pharmacies.
Breene noted that a side benefit of having the regional clinic in Venango County is a favorable economic impact as people who come into the county to get vaccinated will stop to shop or eat or get gas.
“This is an awesome opportunity to showcase the region,” Dulaney said.
Karen Beardsley, manager for public relations at UPMC Northwest, said no official information about the regional clinic designation for the Cranberry site had been released by UPMC as of Wednesday.
