Cuts, scrapes, bruises, dehydration, allergic reactions — Allegheny Health Network expects to see it all when thousands of people pack Downtown Pittsburgh and the North Shore in less than two weeks for the 2026 NFL Draft.
The system’s mobile clinic will park in Market Square for the duration of the draft, offering a first line of free care. Some 4,000 Band-Aids, as many ice packs and more than 1,400 water bottles are set aside for the people who stop there.
The green and yellow van will also be stocked with butterfly bandages, Benadryl, menstrual products, EpiPen injectors, bleeding control kits and a host of other supplies to address minor issues or tide patients over until they can receive more comprehensive care.
The eight-room AHN Downtown Express Care at Penn Avenue Place will be equipped to handle more serious injuries, such as fractures and larger lacerations.
Unlike the van, the clinic will be charging for care, though no one will be turned away for lack of insurance.
“We are highly sensitive to the fact that we need our ERs to be full of the right folks who truly need their emergency services,” Dr. Amy Crawford-Faucher, chair of the AHN Primary Care Institute, said on a tour of the facility Monday. “So that gave us the idea of really expanding the services we’re offering down here at our Downtown Express Care.”
Tourism agency Visit Pittsburgh projects the draft, which lasts from April 23-25, will draw upwards of 500,000 fans. It’s unclear whether that estimate counts someone who attends multiple days as a unique visitor each time they enter the draft area.
Regardless, large crowds are a sure bet. Crawford-Faucher suspects slips and falls will be a common cause of injury during the three-day event.
Patients who previously scheduled appointments at the Downtown Express Care can choose a virtual visit instead. Allegheny General Hospital is working with Pittsburgh and NFL officials to make sure traffic restrictions don’t prevent non-emergency patients from keeping their appointments there.
AHN is also mindful that a mass casualty event, while unlikely, could materialize. In early March, Allegheny General Hospital brought in about 20 volunteer actors to play victims of a mass shooting at Acrisure Stadium.
The Level 1 trauma center — meaning it handles the most severe injuries —runs these drills once or twice per year, but the scenario was crafted in part because of the upcoming draft.
The mobile clinic in Market Square will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday during the draft and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. that Saturday.
AHN Downtown Express Care is located at 501 Penn Ave, Suite 2, across from the Highmark building. It will be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. the Wednesday before the draft and all three days of the event.