With services expanding at the Wood County
Health District’s clinic thanks to a federal grant, the agency needs more room to grow.The Wood County
Community Health and Wellness Center, operated within the health district, will receive $787,500 for a
15-month period beginning in 2014, and $650,000 the next year. If terms of the grant, which include extra
services and an increased client load, are met, it will become an ongoing source of funding.County
commissioners heard a very basic proposal Thursday from Health Commissioner Pam Butler, two members of the
board of health, and Ben Batey, who is director of nursing in the health district and CEO of the health
center."We’ve always been the safety net, but this will help us do more and provide more
services," Butler said of the grant."It’s a big win for Wood County," Batey added, though the
award is not without challenges."We don’t have any room for any of this expansion, so we would like to
be able to add on to the building," Butler said.The group got the OK to contact Poggemeyer Design
Group, which helped build the current facility, for preliminary design work.Plans could easily change, but
the most sensible location would be on the east side of the building near the nursing division. No
square-footage or cost estimates were available, but the new space would include a board room with a
separate entrance and restrooms, so it could be rented by other agencies and community organizations. About
10 staff parking spaces would need to be eliminated."It looks like that’s the best space," Butler
said."We get a lot of regional requests (and) state requests to use our board room, and we are really
stretching the size of our board room with the number of people who come in and use that space."The
grant allows for up to $100,000 in renovations in the first year but would address reorganization of clinic
space. The building expansion would need to be paid for separately from grant or levy funds, likely up-front
by the county with the health district making rent payments.The expansion would leave room for future growth
as services continue to expand, with a pharmacy planned and the long-range option of including a dental
center."We want to become a medical home. Everybody thinks of us as the place of last resort for health
care. What we want to become is the place for health care," Butler said."I know that sounds like a
lofty goal, but it’s not."
