SVHC’s New COVID Resource Center Combines Testing and Vaccines

UPDATE: The availability of flu shots at the COVID Resource Center ended October 29, 2021.

BENNINGTON, VT—August 6, 2021—Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) will administer COVID vaccines and PCR tests at one convenient location, the COVID Resource Center. The clinic is located in the gymnasium of the former Southern Vermont College campus at 981 Mansion Drive in Bennington. Visit svhealthcare.org/COVID-Resource-Center for hours. Hours may change based on demand. The COVID Resource Center is a Vermont state contracted facility operated by Southwestern Vermont Health Care.

“Our community has high vaccination rates, but we still have room to improve, especially among younger people,” said Trey Dobson, MD, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center’s chief medical officer. “Getting vaccinated is the single best way to protect yourself, your family, and your community from COVID-19.”

Patients can schedule both their COVID test and their COVID vaccine conveniently online. Go to svmcbookcovidtest.timetap.com to schedule testing and svmcvaccine.timetap.com to schedule a vaccine. While scheduling is preferred, walk-ins are accepted.

• The clinic is open to all who are eligible. At present, eligible people include everyone 12 and older, regardless of whether they live in Vermont or another state. It is anticipated that younger people will be eligible as early as this fall.
• Patients over the age of 18 will have a choice of Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson, based on availability.
• Those who register online may reserve their choice of vaccine.
• 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.  

The clinic is a part of a statewide strategy to ensure adequate COVID testing and vaccination availability. It will likely provide flu testing and flu vaccines throughout the flu season.

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.
 
Southwestern Vermont Medical Center provides exceptional care without discriminating on the basis of an individual’s age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture, language, physical or mental disability, socioeconomic status, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression. Language assistance services, free of charge, are available at 1-800-367-9559.