By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
When the Wood County Health Department offered water bottle filling stations throughout the county, officials didn’t expect to be flooded with requests.
As of mid-February, the health department had 135 requests from schools, churches, nursing homes and nonprofit agencies, Wood County Health Commission Ben Robison announced to the board of health on Thursday.
“We didn’t anticipate this,” Robison said. “This is a way of making a lasting impact in the community, beyond these walls.”
The motion-activated stations allow people to fill up water bottles without touching the unit, reducing the spread of disease, Robison said.
In an effort to make the most of its remaining federal COVID relief funds, the health department had decided that purchasing water bottle filling stations for non-profit locations would be a good use of some of the funding. Other uses included purchasing a mobile unit to take health care on the road, and stocking up on COVID test kits.
“We want to have a lasting impact on Wood County communities,” Robison said in January.
The water stations will cost the health department approximately $1,200 per unit, but will be given at no cost to community locations. Installation of the units will be part of the contract.
Also at February’s meeting, the health board heard an update on the health department building plan. Robison presented the board with a proposal that would bring the WIC program back to the health department on East Gypsy Lane Road, but would continue to rent space at the OSU Extension Building on South Dunbridge Road for the health department’s finance and human resources staffs.
That office space would continue to be rented to the health department for $24,000 a year. The change would bring all public services under one roof at the East Gypsy Lane Road site.
Robison also suggested that rather than adding onto the health department building to create a large board room, that the board consider using an existing large meeting space in the basement of the Dunbridge Road building.
In other business at the meeting:
- The board authorized the hiring process to begin for a psychiatrist for the community health center.
- Board President Nilgun Sezginis asked how the health department can help with the public health crisis of rising suicide rates. Board member Cathy Nelson asked Robison to report back to the board with data on suicides in Wood County.
- Board member Richard Strow expressed concerns about the high use of Narcan, and asked if the availability of the drug was enabling people to take more risks. Robison said the Narcan is just the first step in connecting addicts with recovery services.
