The Wood County Health Department is offering local schools, churches and non-profits water bottle filling stations.
Commissioner Ben Robison announced at the Jan. 11 board meeting that the health department is accepting requests for standalone fillers and combination drinking fountain/bottle filler stations.
The Ohio Department of Health has approved using the Enhanced Operations 2023 funds for this purchase, Robison explained.
If more than 100 total units are requested within the community, the health department will prioritize requests with consideration for the number of people served, the population served, the services provided, and the affordability of the unit by the requesting entity.
The units, which cost $1,200 each, have to be purchased before Jan. 31.
“Any place people congregate,” including churches, schools and businesses, is eligible, Robison said.
There will be no fee for installation, and the only future cost will be for filters, he said.
Having a water bottle filling station where there is no hand or mouth contact prevents the spread of disease, he said.
The department also is using a federal COVID grant to purchase a mobile medical unit to drive throughout the county and provide additional public health services.
The unit will be the size of a large U-Haul and have a waiting room, fresh water tanks and generator, said Robison.
There also will be enough space for dental services.
“We see this as an investment that we can use over time,” Robison said.
The unit will cost $250,000.
Robison said it can be used for public health education in places where there isn’t a good facility to do so.
Board member Bob Midden said he was pleased with the concept of providing services throughout the county but wanted to know the cost of operations including staffing and maintenance as well as the prospect for additional income.
He said he was curious whether mobile clinics can generate enough income to cover the cost of operations.
Robison said the grant included funds for personnel, but existing staff could be used for public health and wellness services as well as health education.
“A mobile clinic is not a substitute for a brick-and-mortar clinic,” said Jerry Landers, interim CEO of the health center. “It is a means to engage the population that you’re trying to work with and help drive them to a brick-and-mortar destination.”
The health center is the best kept secret in the county and needs to do community outreach to help promote the services available, he said.
The health department needs a satellite operation, and a mobile clinic will help answer the question of where, he said.
The mobile unit will be purchased from TESCO Specialty Vehicles, Oregon.
In other action, the board:
• Heard Robison report he had met with the architects in charge of the building renovations. Once the plans are finalized, he will share them with the board.
Once firm costs are in place, the decision will be made whether to build a new board room, he said.
The 1,000-square-foot expansion could go to the west of the existing building, or the south, but a check needs to be made to determine if there are any sewer or utility lines in the areas, he said.
The plan is to add on and bring the WIC program under the health department roof. If the expansion is not possible, the board could meet at a different location and give WIC the current board room.
“I’m definitely in favor of bringing WIC back here. If we have to meet somewhere else, so be it,” Midden said.
• Met via Zoom with Jennifer Genua-McDaniel, CEO of Genua Consulting, about the search for a new health center CEO.
“You have a really great chance to get a really good candidate,” she said about the search.
She estimated with the development of criteria, the search and interviews, it will be June or July before a new CEO is found.
• Authorized Robison to spend up to $50,000 of Enhanced Operations 23 funds to purchase COVID test kits to supplement the kits provided by ODH and support the increased demand for kits.
• Approved step increases for hours worked on or after Jan. 1, 2024. The total amount for step increases is estimated to be $70,000.
• Provided a cost-of-living adjustment of 4% on the department’s pay scale, effective Jan. 1.
