By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
Renovations to the Wood County Health Department improve space efficiency, accommodate future growth and especially enhance access and the experience for the public, said Wood County Health Commissioner Ben Robison during a recent open house.
“We rethought our space and were pretty intentional about being efficient with the space,” Robison said. “We wanted to create a space that is welcoming to the public and also meets the needs for our staff.”
One of the most significant changes was relocating the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) services in the health department building. It had previously been housed in a building on Dunbridge Road.
“People would come here to get their services, but WIC was located a mile away,” he said. “Folks who were accessing WIC services often had barriers like transportation. They would arrive here and then need to go somewhere else. Now they come to one place.”
The WIC office is easily accessible and inviting with brightly painted jungle animals on the walls, child-sized chairs and table and a caterpillar on the wall with activities to play.
The spaces were designed to be more client-centered. In addition to bringing client services under one roof, they also created more private and welcoming clinical spaces.
“Now, you can come in for a dental appointment or medical checkup in our clinic, get your prescription, get your birth certificate, apply for a restaurant license and get your WIC appointment all at the same time,” he said.
The human resources and finance departments, which are less client-facing, were moved to the Dunbridge Road building where WIC was previously located.
The renovation focused on improving both staff and client experiences by creating collaborative workspaces, ensuring client privacy with closed-door offices, bringing in more natural light, and adding a new, accessible public restroom.
With an eye for the future, the renovations also added 12 more desks than the current number of staff. “We have the ability to accommodate growth into the future,” he said.
A number of the offices also have small meeting spaces, and to ensure client privacy, all the rooms have closed doors. “Because the ceilings were already high from the boardroom, rather than lowering the ceilings, we kept them and brought in the natural light,” he explained.
Robison explained that the facility renovation was a necessary and strategic investment to steward public resources effectively, improve operational efficiency, and plan for long-term growth.
The project, which started with the design process in 2024, was funded through a combination of the American Rescue Plan Act’s Wood County funds and the health department’s retained earnings.
Originally, the project was to be funded from $450,000 of ARPA funds awarded by the county commissioners and $150,000 from a COVID grant. However, the COVID grant was recalled last spring before the funds could be used.
The COVID grant was only eligible for certain spaces. Some of the work had been completed, but not yet on the eligible spaces, because they thought they had more time. Instead, they used the health department’s retained earnings.
“We had the ability to make the investment with a little additional money, and fortunately, we have come in under budget, so we’re excited about that,” Robison said. “We need to do the maintenance so that we can take care of the resource the public’s given us. And this was an essential step to making sure we can do that, for the future.”
