Health department plans for expansion
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The reasons for expansion, as well as the nature of expansion, were discussed at a recent meeting of the Health and Welfare Committee attended by local health department director Glenda Holland.
Health and Welfare Committee chairman Wayne Pryor said he was informed by County Executive Kenneth Rogers the county might need to construct a new health department building. The current building has been remodeled and expanded over the years, but further, and more extensive, expansion may be necessary, even extending to a new facility.
“That is why I invited Glenda,” Pryor said. “She knows about it. This is something that requires our attention and that we may have to get involved in later on.”
Holland explained some of the particulars of the possible expansion. Holland described the current health department as “bursting at the seams” and said she expects even more business because TennCare cuts will force people to use the health department instead of a private physician.
“A lot of people were taken off TennCare, and money was given to us to serve these people,” said Holland. “We can’t do everything they need, like we don’t have X-ray, there’s a lot of things they go to the doctor’s office for that we can’t do. But we can do basic primary care, which is generally the reason people go to doctors.”
Holland says the health department is already making preparations for the proposed expansion in anticipation of increased volume due to the large number of people cut from TennCare.
“We’re getting ready to hire a nurse,” Holland said. “We’ve hired a nurse’s assistant and we need to hire a doctor if we can find one. As soon as this gets going good we think people will be coming in.”
Financing for the project may come from several sources, not just from the county. Matching grants have been mentioned.
One of the commissioners suggested the old River Park building as a possibility.
“Well, we had talked about that at one time,” Holland said, but noted she had heard there was damage to the building which might preclude its use.
Pryor pointed out there was still space at the current site for expansion.
“We have room where the health department is right now,” Pryor said. “We have room to actually build a wing out there and it would be independent of the other building. It would have its own independent air and heat. But we could still utilize the old building.”
Others brought up the problem of traffic at the site of the current building and noted expansion could escalate that problem.
Committee members decided to begin work on alternatives for the expansion.
“I think it’s something we need to be studying now,” said Commissioner Bill Yancy, “and not wait until the last minute.”