Allegheny Health Network, UPMC planning for expanded care during NFL draft
The 2026 NFL draft takes over Pittsburgh in a little over three weeks. Many people have questions about how the region's hospitals are preparing.
"It'll be an intense period of time in which Pittsburgh looks very much like it did 50 years ago," said Dr. Donald Yealy, chief medical officer and senior vice president with UPMC.
And with that, the city's major health systems are preparing.
"We want to make sure that we have a clear plan," Dr. Yealy added.
UPMC says it will have tents and pop-up care sites in places like Market Square, the Point, and even near the draft stage.
"The key point is to have it nearby where the largest crowds will be," Dr. Yealy said.
Allegheny Health Network says it will have a clinic in Market Square, too.
"We also have sites, medical forts that are actually on the premises, on the site themselves," said Dr. Brent Rau, the medical director of the Allegheny General Hospital emergency department.
These will primarily be for smaller issues, such as alcohol or density.
Dr. Yealy says health systems have to be ready for people coming into town with underlying medical issues as well.
"We have to be ready to take care of them because they're part of our city at that moment in time."
AHN says it will have a command center at Nova Place on the North Side. It will also have its Downtown Express Care open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Wednesday through Saturday of the draft.
"Fortunately, both of these health systems have many nurses, many doctors, and many staff in general," Dr. Rau said.
UPMC and AHN say they've been collaborating about getting ready for an event of this magnitude. They've also been speaking with health care systems in the four previous draft host cities.
"They've given us some good information about what they've learned, some things that maybe they wish they had done better, or some things that went well," Dr. Rau said.
AHN says patients with previously scheduled primary care appointments downtown during draft time will have the option to use video instead.
