Northern Light Health converts Bangor arena into a $125K vaccine clinic

Courtesy / Cross Insurance Center Cross Insurance acquires North Andover- based Patriot Benefit Solutions Insurance Agency.

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By William Hall

The Cross Insurance Center in Bangor is transforming into a makeshift medical clinic as Northern Light Health ramps up to vaccinate masses of Mainers against COVID-19.

The state’s second-largest health care system on Tuesday will begin inoculations at the arena for people age 70 or older, according to a news release. Northern Light hopes to initially vaccinate 900 people a day, who will have to register ahead of time for an appointment.

Clinicians will initially administer the vaccine at 20 stations on the arena’s concourse, Northern Light spokeswoman Suzanne Spruce told Mainebiz. When at full capacity, the site will have more than 40 stations and be able to handle 2,000 people daily. Northern Light is occupying a total of 28,000 square feet on the concourse and lower levels of the Cross Center, and has the option to use space on the main floor if necessary.

Spruce said the cost to set up the vaccine site will be about $125,000, most of which Northern Light expects will be covered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Northern Light began vaccinations Jan. 23 at smaller sites as it undertook the “substantial planning and coordination” for the Cross Center one.

“The smaller sites were a good stopgap measure to get shots into people’s arms as quickly as possible to stop the spread of this deadly virus,” said Matt Marston, associate vice president for the system’s pharmacy, in the release. “As vaccine shipments increase in the coming weeks and months, the Cross Insurance Center site will allow Northern Light Health to be well positioned to assist in the statewide vaccination effort.”

The state’s largest health care system, MaineHealth, last week announced it was creating a mass vaccination site of its own inside the grandstand of the former Scarborough Downs harness-racing track. Work to build that 30,000-square-foot clinic is expected to finish in the next few days.

Unlike the Scarborough site, however, the Cross Insurance Center plays a double role in Maine’s response to the pandemic. The arena has already been tapped to serve as an alternative site for medical care if COVID-19 cases overrun the state’s hospital capacity.

“Part of the reason we are starting our vaccination site in the concourse area is that’s on the upper level of the building, so we can preserve the larger arena level for an alternate care site, should that become necessary and Maine CDC chooses to activate one,” Spruce said. “This has been carefully coordinated to preserve all options. We plot multiple scenarios, so we always have a plan.”

Information about registering for vaccine appointments can be found here.