The Wood County Board of Health has approved nearly $20,000 in architectural services for an upcoming
clinic renovation and expansion.
Board members voted unanimously Thursday to approve an $8,500 contract with Poggemeyer Design Group for
professional architectural services for renovations to the clinic area, and a further $11,000 contract
with Poggemeyer for architectural services concerning the expansion of the clinic.
Plans for the restructured clinic include a redesigned flow through the area and four new exam rooms,
allowing more patients to be treated.
The renovation is to be funded by part of a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration,
which the health district received last year. The Wood County Community Health and Wellness Center is
expected to increase clients and services as part of the $1.4 million grant, which allows for up to
$100,000 in renovations the first year. That would only address reorganization in clinic space and is
separate from the possibility of a building expansion.
Health District Commissioner Pamela Butler said the plans regard "turning office space into clinic
space and really turning space around. This one is about the potential of, as we move forward, designing
the potential of new services."
Board member Dallas Ziegler voiced concerns about how staff would handle the logistics of working with
Poggemeyer and determining where certain spaces should be located.
"I think we’re finally having the conversation we should have had a couple months ago," said
member Frank McLaughlin, who later noted the board needs to deal with the planning of the renovation
sooner rather than later.
It is hoped that the construction would be completed in the fall.
In other business, the board:
• set a meeting date of the District Advisory Council for March 28 at 2 p.m. in the Junior Fair Building
at the Wood County Fairgrounds. The meeting was originally held earlier this month, but the required
quorum of 23 members was not present.
Butler indicated they are sending reminders out to council members to attend, and she understood the Wood
County Prosecutor’s Office was doing the same.
• approved a revised center director annual performance evaluation schema for nursing services director
and Federally Qualified Health Center CEO Ben Batey. While on the subject, McLaughlin noted that there
had been little communication between the FQHC and the Health Board, saying they had not heard about the
FQHC’s fiscal and personnel decisions.
"I just don’t know if there’s been a lot of communication," he said.
The body discussed how the boards could better interact and share information.
• voted unanimously to approve a motion to end the employment of Lupe Martinez, a clinical service
assistant who has worked at the Health District since 2004. She had entered into a "last
chance" agreement in the fall "based on previous progressive discipline." The move was
precipitated by a reported Feb. 20 incident, the latest of multiple complaints related to Martinez’s
relations with clients. The board also voted to post and fill her vacated position.