SANFORD, Maine – MaineHealth, York County Emergency Management Agency and the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) welcomed patients into a new COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the former Marshall’s location at 1364 Main Street in Sanford. The transformation of the site from a retail store to a high-volume vaccine clinic included deep cleaning and the installation of new furniture, equipment, and IT infrastructure.
“This clinic will make a big difference in our efforts to vaccinate our community,” said Dr. Michael Albaum, Chief Medical Officer of Southern Maine Health Care. “The new space and the partnership with York Emergency Management and Maine CDC will significantly expand the number of patients we can vaccinate on a daily and weekly basis.”
The clinic will be staffed by vaccinators, clinicians and support personnel from Southern Maine Health Care (SMHC), part of MaineHealth, and York County emergency management agencies and municipalities. The SMHC Vaccine Clinic at Sanford Medical Center (formally Goodall Hospital) has transitioned its operations and staff to the Main Street location.
“Our Incident Management Team (IMT) has stood up several clinics to vaccinate York County’s first responder community,” said Art Cleaves, York County Emergency Management Director. “The collaboration with SMHC, along with the IMT and volunteers from the 29 towns and local businesses, will allow us to speed along the vaccination process for our citizens which is one very important piece of helping to get us out of this pandemic.”
“This large-scale community vaccination clinic is one more step toward our goal of getting shots into the arms of Maine people as quickly and fairly as possible,” said Dr. Nirav D. Shah, Director of the Maine CDC. “As our federal partners increase vaccine allocations to Maine, we will have the infrastructure in place to increase capacity and vaccinate more southern Maine residents. We thank MaineHealth and York County Emergency Management Agency for their partnership.”
The Sanford COVID-19 vaccination clinic will operate every day except Tuesdays from 8:00am - 4:30pm to start. MaineHealth will add additional hours as more vaccine becomes available, and when fully supplied, the clinic will be able to vaccinate up to 1,000 people each day.
The Sanford clinic is scheduled to operate for the next six months, with the potential to operate longer. Vaccines are available by appointment only. MaineHealth is currently offering vaccine appointments in accordance with guidelines from the state. Patients seeking a vaccination can pre-register by calling the MaineHealth COVID-19 Vaccine Assistant at 1-877-780-7545. More information about how to get a vaccine through MaineHealth is available on the MaineHealth website.
Information about statewide vaccination efforts and vaccine availability can be found on the State of Maine Vaccine Information Site.
As vaccination continues, Maine people should continue wearing masks, washing hands frequently, keeping a safe distance from others, and avoiding crowds.
Images and videos of the clinic and patient vaccinations are available for download here: You can credit MaineHealth.
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About MaineHealth
MaineHealth is a not-for-profit integrated health system consisting of nine local hospital systems, a comprehensive behavioral healthcare network, diagnostic services, home health agencies, and more than 1,700 employed and independent physicians working together through an Accountable Care Organization. With close to 22,000 employees, MaineHealth is the largest health system in northern New England and provides preventive care, diagnosis and treatment to 1.1 million residents in Maine and New Hampshire. It includes Franklin Memorial Hospital/Franklin Community Health Network in Farmington, LincolnHealth in Damariscotta and Boothbay Harbor, Maine Behavioral Healthcare in South Portland, MaineHealth Care at Home in Saco, Maine Medical Center in Portland, Memorial Hospital in North Conway, N.H., Mid Coast-Parkview Health in Brunswick, NorDx in Scarborough, Pen Bay Medical Center and Waldo County Hospital in Rockport and Belfast, Southern Maine Health Care in Biddeford and Sanford, Spring Harbor Hospital in Westbrook and Stephens Memorial Hospital/Western Maine Health Care in Norway. MaineHealth Affiliates include Maine General Health in Augusta and Waterville, New England Rehabilitation Hospital in Portland and St. Mary's Regional Medical Center in Lewiston. It is also a significant stakeholder in the MaineHealth Accountable Care Organization in Portland.
About York County Emergency Management Agency
York County Emergency Management Agency is a government agency located in Alfred, Maine. The mission of the agency is to lessen the effects of a disaster on the lives and property of the citizens of York County through coordination and training within the four phases of emergency management: preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. In addition to its full-time staff, special teams, and cadre of several hundred volunteers, York County Emergency Management Agency works in conjunction with the county’s local emergency management directors, acting as a conduit between Maine Emergency Management Agency and Federal Emergency Management Agency, to provide resources and communication before, during, and after disasters.
About Maine CDC
The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) provides essential public health services that preserve, promote, and protect the health of Maine people. This includes monitoring health status to identify community health problems, diagnosing and investigating health problems, informing, educating, and empowering people regarding health issues, mobilizing partnerships to identify and address health problems, developing policies and plans to support health efforts, enforcing laws and regulations, linking people with health resources, assuring a public health workforce, evaluating the effectiveness of personal and population based health services, and researching new and innovative solutions to health problems.