SVMC reduces vaccination hours at COVID Resource Center as demand falls

Testing hours remain unchanged.

Vermont Business Magazine In response to decreased demand for COVID-19 vaccines and boosters, Southwestern Vermont Health Care’s (SVHC) COVID Resource Center vaccination hours will reduce hours starting Monday, February 21.

The center will be open for vaccinations 8 am–noon Friday and Saturday through March. Vaccines will be available 1–5 pm Monday through Wednesday and 8 am–noon on Thursday at SVMC ExpressCare/Respiratory Evaluation Center at 120 Hospital Drive in Bennington.

· Both locations are open to all who are eligible. At present, everyone age 5 and older are eligible for vaccination. People 12 and older are eligible for a booster.

· No appointment is needed. Those wishing to make an appointment for Friday or Saturday may visit https://vermont.force.com/events/s/selfregistration.

· The Pfizer vaccine is available to patients who are ages 5 – 17. Patients over the age of 18 have a choice of Pfizer or Moderna, based on availability.

· Everyone under the age of 18 must be accompanied by parent or guardian.

· The services are free, with no cost to patients. Insurance companies may be billed for testing.

Testing hours will remain unchanged. COVID testing is available 8 a.m. – noon Monday – Saturday without an appointment. Hours may change based on demand, holidays, weather, and other factors.

The COVID Resource Center is located on the former Southern Vermont College campus at 981 Mansion Drive in Bennington. It is a Vermont state contracted facility operated by Southwestern Vermont Health Care.

For additional information, visit svhealthcare.org/COVID-Resource-Center.

About SVHC:
Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) is a comprehensive, preeminent, healthcare system providing exceptional, convenient, and affordable care to the communities of Bennington and Windham Counties of Vermont, eastern Rensselaer and Washington Counties of New York, and northern Berkshire County in Massachusetts. SVHC includes Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center, the Centers for Living and Rehabilitation, and the SVHC Foundation. SVMC includes 25 primary and specialty care practices.

SVMC has earned several prominent distinctions. Most recently, SVMC received the American Hospital Association’s Rural Healthcare Leadership Award for transformational change in efforts toward healthcare reform and its fifth consecutive designation within the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program®. It ranked fourth in the nation for healthcare value by the Lown Institute Hospitals Index in 2020 and is one of Vermont’s Best Places to Work. SVMC earned an ‘A’ for hospital safety from the Leapfrog Group for two years in a row. During the pandemic, SVMC and both its skilled nursing facilities, the Centers for Living and Rehabilitation in Bennington, and the Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation at Hoosick Falls, earned perfect scores on a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services evaluation meant to determine the ability to prevent transmission of COVID-19 and other infections.

BENNINGTON, VT—February 17, 2022—Southwestern Vermont Medical Center