NORWICH – UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital will hold its first walk-in COVID-19 vaccine clinic this Friday from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Awestruck Tap Room in Sidney.

“We’re excited to partner with our new friends at Awestruck Cider on what will be our first walk-in clinic,” said David Finney, Vice President of Clinical Services at UHS Chenango Memorial.

Chenango Memorial. “We feel their Tap Room in Sidney will be the perfect place to test what we hope will be a successful new model for us, as we move into this next phase of the vaccination effort.”

While walk-ins are welcome and encouraged, Finney noted that anyone who wishes to reserve a spot can do so by calling the Awestruck Tap Room at (607) 232-1143.

“This will give them a designated time to receive their vaccine, in case the event gets busy,” he said.

The CMH Vaccine Team will return to Awestruck on Thursday, May 27 to administer the second dose of Moderna to those who attend Friday’s clinic. The team is also in conversation with potential partners in hopes of hosting similar clinics in Norwich and elsewhere in Chenango County in May.

Until recently, the idea of a walk-in clinic would have been unheard of, according to Finney, who has spearheaded the Norwich hospital’s COVID vaccination efforts since they receive their first allocation in December.

“Even a month ago, our biggest challenge was that demand for the vaccine was outpacing supply. Now, we’re finding we need to be more creative in how we get the vaccine into our community,” he said.

Those creative efforts have included hosting pop-up vaccine clinics at farms, businesses, churches and fire halls across greater Chenango County.

On Monday, Finney and his vaccination team were at the First Baptist Church in Afton, delivering second doses to those they vaccinated at their very first pop-up clinic in late March, an event made possible through a collaboration with Commerce Chenango.

“That was really the start for us,” he said. “Since then we’ve been fortunate to partner with a number of local employers - - including Raymond, NBT Bank, Chobani, Golden Artist Colors, GE Unison, Baillie Lumber and Amphenol - to help vaccinate their employees,” he said.

Outreach hasn’t ended there. Working with the USDA’s Farm Services Agency, the CMH Vaccination Team held pop-up clinics at several local farms. In South Otselic, they partnered with one of Chenango County’s oldest manufacturers, Gladding Braided Products, on a pop-up clinic at the South Otselic Fire House.

“We vaccinated a number of Gladding employees, as well as community members,” said Finney. “We’ll actually be returning to South Otselic for another clinic this week, which is being organized by the Fire Department. It will be a small clinic, but we’re happy to do it for the community and as a thank you to the South Otselic EMS team, which has stood by with us for several of our clinics.

At times, vaccination teams have been at multiple sites on the same day, and in two notable situations, at the same time. And throughout it all, they’ve continued to host regular vaccine clinics at UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital.

“It’s important to note that those working on this effort all have regular roles across our organization. They’ve taken this on in addition to their regular responsibilities. It has truly been a team effort, and one we’re all very committed to,” said Finney.

“For the last year, we’ve all lived and worked with the stress of this pandemic. The staff members raising their hands to work these clinics have seen first-hand what this virus can do. With every dose of the vaccine that we administer, we feel like, finally, we’re able to fight back.”

Finney encouraged anyone with reservations about receiving the vaccine to visit SouthernTierVax.org.

“There are great resources there, including some locally produced public service announcements that feature providers from across the Southern Tier,” he said.

Those interested in scheduling an appointment at one of UHS Chenango Memorial’s upcoming vaccine clinics, call do so by calling the CMH COVID Vaccine Line at (607) 337-4888.

UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital is a member of United Health Services, a locally owned not-for-profit 916-bed hospital and health care system serving the Greater Binghamton region from more than 40 locations around New York’s Southern Tier.

- From UHS