Bern supervisors authorize Recovery Commission to facilitate Penn State Health vaccination site at former Teleflex building

The Bern Township Board of Supervisors voted Feb. 2 to authorize Emergency Management Recovery Commission activities that will allow Enersys to offer the old Teleflex building lobby to Penn State Health for COVID-19 vaccinations. Township Manager Brian Potts told the board the arrangement could be handled like the existing Penn State testing site at a local bank by waiving zoning permits and temporary-signage permits through the Recovery Commission.

"Enersys has offered the use of the old Teleflex building to Penn State Health for administering vaccinations in the lobby area," Potts said, and he recommended the board treat the site as a temporary emergency public-health location. Supervisors approved the motion to authorize the Recovery Commission activities by unanimous vote.

The authorization does not itself create a formal lease or operational agreement; Potts framed the action as an administrative step to speed local permitting so Penn State Health can deploy vaccine operations more quickly. The board's vote aligns municipal permitting with the township's prior handling of a Penn State testing site, reducing redundant reviews and temporary-signage permit requirements.

Next steps include finalizing any facility-use or lease arrangements between Enersys and Penn State Health and ensuring the site meets public-health operational requirements. The board did not detail a timeline for when vaccinations would begin at the site during the meeting.