In response to the 02-22-22 Wabash County Commissioners Meeting:
Actions at the recent Commissioners meeting not only was highly discouraging to staff, but as a whole should be discouraging to the public. In June 2021, WCHD was committed a sum of money for the purchase/renovation of a new building to accommodate growth and opportunity as agreed to by the Commissioners. Upon the recommendation of the commissioners we agreed on a building that would fit such growth and with approval of our own Board of Health, the Commissioners on February 22, 2022, decided now is not the time to build due to a variety of reasons which I will address below and that they would like to rescind the money offered pending discussion with the States Attorney.
What I would like to offer is this, a reasonable explanation to the general public as to why such a building is necessary.
Location change was not an afterthought.
The current WCHD location has many drawbacks. The size of the building has been a hinderance to not only our employees but to the public as well. Currently, we have employees who provide direct services working sharing an office out of a mail room. We cannot house direct service staff in the basement for lack of handicap accessibility. Not to mention our prevention staff who work in a basement whose heating cannot keep up and is damp at times. How many of you have waited for a service in our hallway? Received foot care in a renovated bathroom? Had to walk a good distance because parking is non-existent? Do you know staff parks a half-block away, in all weather conditions to accommodate the public on clinic days? How many times as part of the general public have you had to go offsite to be provided a service? Vaccinations at Parkview? Flu drive-thru at the MCPU Garage? Not to mention testing out of the camper. We cannot provide those services in-house due to our size and lack of accessiblity. We are unable to provide trainings to the community or even host a meeting with more than 20 people without the use of the First Baptist Church or Wabash Valley College. We have to utilize off-site locations because we are not equipped.
As a whole, we provide services to not only those located in Mt. Carmel but to those located in Allendale, Bellmont, Keensburg, Albion, West Salem, and Bone Gap. Yes, we understand that transportation is an issue for some, 8% of the population do not have access to a car, we know that, we are already discussing how to make it more accessible for you. However, do you know that the area in which the previous WAVE building resides is the most Socially Vulnerable Area in the County? Look it up here: https://svi.cdc.gov/map.html (Census Tract 9575).
To the remark that building cost was too high, the money that was committed during the peak of building prices. I have included a link for your review.
https://eyeonhousing.org/2021/11/building-materials-prices-post-record-year-to-date-increase-through-october/#:~:text=Building%20materials%20prices%20have%20increased,of%202020%20(%2B12.0%25).
Also, when discussing prices, you had mentioned the WC Courthouse was in need of repair, so would repair of the courthouse not use construction materials? Not to negate the need for renovations of the courthouse, however it was not brought up in June during the time of commitment. In addition, the amount of money originally proposed in June was not the amount requested for the renovation of the WAVE building, it was 37% less than the original agreed upon amount.
To the comment that the growth of the hospital would have a negative impact on the Health Department and/or it’s need for additional space: Karissa Turner, WGH CEO has assured me and our Board of Health that the hospital has no intention of moving into the Health Department’s service space.
Public Health institutions by definition are provided to communities to promote healthy behaviors, maintain healthy communities and prevent health inequities. We are here to help level the healthcare playing field. Our goal is to measurably reduce the gaps in services, especially for those groups excluded or marginalized socially and/or economically. By limiting our building capacity, we are limiting our ability to improve health outcomes. We are limiting the amount of services we offer. We are limiting the types of programs available to community members. We are limiting job growth within the community. We are unable to expand our program base and employee capacity because we simply cannot house them.
We need support. Support from our community, neighbors, and service users. We as employees will continue to push to expand our services to provide you with the best public health care we can provide under this roof. Until then, please support us in our journey as we strive to grow.
Submitted by: Judy Wissel, Administrator
