Officials with LECOM Health today announced plans that will expand Erie County residents’ ability to receive a coronavirus vaccine.
LECOM Health has purchased a mobile vaccination unit that will allow the health system to distribute doses of the COVID-19 vaccine at pop-up clinics throughout Erie County. Beginning next week, Erie County residents can visit lecomisaging.com, call 814-812-7202 or email
vaccineinfo@lecomslc.org to schedule an appointment at an upcoming mobile clinic.
Appointments will be scheduled based upon vaccine availability and the state Department of Health’s phased distribution schedule. The website will be updated as additional clinics are scheduled. There is no cost to receive the vaccine.
By offering these mobile vaccination clinics, LECOM Health hopes to make the COVID-19 vaccine more accessible to a larger segment of Erie County’s population.
“This program aligns with the LECOM Health NWPA Regional Response Health Collaborative’s mission to be a resource of innovation, partnership, education and evaluation in COVID-19 mitigation efforts,” said James Lin, D.O., president of the LECOM Institute for
Successful Aging. “Our mobile vaccination clinics will allow us to bring healthcare directly to the people, some of whom may otherwise have difficulty receiving the vaccine. The sooner we can get a large number of the population vaccinated, the sooner we can return to a more normal way of life.”
LECOM Health purchased the mobile vaccination unit from Aardvark Mobile Health. The truck’s unique design allows staff to administer the vaccine to multiple patients at once, thereby expediting the distribution process. The unit also includes a number of built-in safety measures to protect both patients and staff during the vaccination process.
LECOM Health and the LECOM Institute for Successful Aging continue to be regional leaders in employing aggressive, proactive measures to protect patients and staff. LECOM Health was the first health system in the area to prohibit visitation at its three skilled nursing facilities as well as the first to implement a policy requiring all employees be screened when arriving for
work. The LECOM Senior Living Center received the region’s first point-of-care rapid testing laboratory to handle large quantities of real-time testing in its facilities. In July, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services awarded LECOM Health a $6.2 million grant to establish the LECOM NWPA Regional Response Health Collaborative to directly support COVID-19 readiness and response planning in 81 long-term care residential facilities in seven counties across northwestern Pennsylvania. LECOM Health also created two dedicated post-acute care units for COVID-19 patients in response to the pandemic and the growing needs within the Erie Community.
