Centre County allocates $500,000 to organizations working to distribute COVID-19 vaccines
Four organizations, including two that have administered tens of thousands of COVID-19 vaccines in Centre County, were awarded grants from the county’s American Rescue Plan Act funds.
Centre County received more than $30 million in ARPA funds, County Commissioner Michael Pipe said during Tuesday’s meeting, when the board of commissioners allocated $694,500 in grants.
“We’re taking a short-term perspective ... (and) long term perspective, there are certain things that are a little bit unclear about the future due to COVID-19, we’re going to be very mindful about how we spend the funds long term, but we are recognizing there are a few things that we really want to make sure that we’re investing in currently and immediately,” Pipe said.
Mount Nittany Health received $400,000 and Centre Volunteers in Medicine received $100,000, both to assist with unreimbursed costs related to COVID-19 vaccine distribution.
Centre Volunteers in Medicine is a free medical and dental clinic. It serves those in Centre County who are medically underserved.
So far, CVIM has given 50,000 vaccines in Centre County by mobilizing 400 volunteers, CVIM board member Donald Gaetano said. The vaccine clinics have all been free.
“Therefore, the choice that the commissioners are making, that the county is making, in awarding the grant money, it’s huge. What it means to a free clinic ... to receive the recognition is an emotional boost. To receive the money is a financial boost that is so important to us and we really do appreciate it,” CVIM board member Donald Gaetano said.
Tom Charles, Mount Nittany Health’s executive vice president, system development and chief strategy officer, said what is remarkable about Mount Nittany’s vaccine distribution is that during the pandemic, it kept its other operations going.
“We are here for the community every day, whether that’s the emergency department, whether it’s our medical group, whether it’s our surgical services, whether it’s admitting people after, we can’t turn that off, we can’t just say, ‘well, we’ll take a break and vaccinate everybody.’ So for us to vaccinate tens of thousands of people, and thousands of people a week, .... on top of doing all of that, it really is a testament to our team,” Charles said.
Ali Brown, a manager of patient access at Mount Nittany, said it was a team effort, and while it was a challenge, they’re grateful for it.
“We are privileged to be able to serve our community in this way and to provide needed vaccines to our patients in our community to keep them healthy and safe,” Brown said.
CVIM’s executive director, Cheryl White, said their efforts will continue as they wait for the Department of Health to tell them when they can begin giving booster shots. Both CVIM and Mount Nittany Health are offering a third vaccine dose to patients who have compromised immune systems, based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations. Both organizations continue to offer first and second doses to those 12 and older.
The two other grants announced Tuesday support infrastructure, an area specifically mentioned in the ARP law, Pipe said.
The Haines-Woodward Municipal Authority received $160,000 to assist with necessary repairs and upgrades to the water tanks and systems, and the Unionville Borough received $34,500 for its “cover water tank replacement” project.
