By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
The Wood County Board of Health voted to spend up to $600,000 on the renovation of the Health Center Thursday. The work will begin on Nov. 1 and take four months to complete.
Health Commissioner Ben Robison said that the district received four bids on the job, ranging from the high of over $661,100 to the low bid by the Mel Lanzer Company, of Napoleon, with a base bid of $483,200.
Robison said after interviewing company officials to make sure they were able to meet all the requirements of the contract, SSOE, design and engineering firm managing the project, recommended the bid be accepted.
The board voted to accept Lanzer’s bid as well as contracting it for three alternates. The largest of those is phased construction, which will allow services to continue to be provided in the center while work is under way. That will cost $33,900. That’s considerably lower than what was anticipated. Robison said originally they told the board that a phased approach could increase the cost of the project by 20 percent, not the 7 percent bid by Lanzer.
Also the board approved spending $6,6000 to paint exam rooms and $4,350 to paint the corridors.
With a contingency fee added, the board approved spending up to $600,000 for the project.
Robison assured the board that the contingency would be large enough.
The health district received $517,100 from the federal Health Resources and Service Administration that will be used to pay for the project.
The board was presented with other options to handling the project, including moving services to the Haskins facility.
Board member Richard Strow said phasing in the construction “is the least disruptive to the patients, so that’s the route we ought to go.”
Moving operations to Haskins would have cost $37,000.
The board did authorize an additional $10,000 to relocate the pharmacy into a conference room during the first phase of the construction.
Diane Krill, the center’s CEO, said that there will be new check-in routines, including curbside. The communication’s team is working on the information now to let patient know where they need to park and enter.
The renovation will provide a larger and more accessible pharmacy. Now it’s located behind locked doors, and patents have to be buzzed in, Krill said. Once the renovation is finished they’ll be able to go straight into the pharmacy waiting room.
There will also be more examination rooms and expanded area for behavioral services, allowing for expansion in treatment options in that area.
COVID, monkeypox, E. coli & flu updates
Robison also gave an update on several public health concerns.
He said the focus in addressing COVID-19 is on getting older and more vulnerable people vaccinated and boosted.
Despite the number of cases, the severity of infections continues to be low, he said. The CDC reported that the number of COVID related deaths is lower than it has been since March 2020.
He likened the situation to being in the 25th mile of a 26-mile marathon. He said he believes that people are looking toward winter, and if the course of the disease holds steady, “we can say we’re truly in recovery.”
In terms of monkeypox, he said, the county so far has had two cases, and the transmission rate is declining nationwide. “We’re not worried about it affecting the general community at a high rate.”
The county received five vials of vaccine, each containing five doses. It had been approved for 200 doses, he said. With so little on hand, it is being reserved only for those who have had close contact with someone infected with monkeypox. These vaccines are also available to share with neighboring providers.
The district also has12 bottles of the antiviral drug to treat those infected. Those are also to be shared with neighboring health providers. Having them at the health center makes them available seven days a week.
Robison also reported that the E. coli outbreak has apparently run its course. The county had 23 reported cases and was able to interview 22 of those people.
Wendy’s, working with the CDC, voluntarily changed where it purchased the romaine lettuce it served on sandwiches, which was different from the Romaine used in salads.
The investigation, Robison said, is ongoing. Though the lettuce seems the source of the illness, investigators are “still trying to nail down what the cause might have been.”
Board member Cathy Nelson asked if the state was going to launch any special campaign to get people vaccinated for flu. The concern, she said, is that after two years of the pandemic where people have been less exposed to flu because of COVID protocols, their immunity may be low.
Krill said that in Australia, which is just coming out of its winter months, there were more cases, but not increased severity.
Robison said the state has not announced any initiative, though it still could.
The Health Department will offer vaccinations to all county employees.
