By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Wood County Health Department wants to make the most of its remaining federal COVID funding – especially as COVID numbers inch up this winter. So it’s offering to buy water bottle fill stations for the community, ordering 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,” said Health Commissioner Ben Robison.
The Board of Health approved the plans for COVID funding on Thursday evening.
Water stations
Health department officials want to purchase up to 100 water bottle filling stations for locations throughout the county. The stations will be free to schools, churches, non-profit agencies, nursing homes, and businesses that serve the public.
The motion-activated stations allow people to fill up water bottles without touching the unit, reducing the spread of disease, Robison said.
So far, 25 units have been requested – but the health department is hopeful that more locations will put in requests by the Jan. 31 deadline.
The water stations will cost the health department approximately $1,200 per unit, but will be given at no cost to community locations.
COVID test kits
While COVID still exists, the home test kits aren’t as easy to access as they were during the peak of the pandemic, Robison said.
“We’ve seen a lot of demand for COVID testing in the last month or so,” he said Thursday evening.
So the board voted to purchase up to $50,000 of the test kits. The kits cost $11, and contain two tests.
The kits are available for free at the health department, 1840 E. Gypsy Lane Road, Bowling Green.
Mobile unit
The biggest chunk of the remaining federal COVID funding will go toward the purchase of a mobile unit for disease mitigation, costing an estimated $250,000.
Robison explained the vehicle would be used for public health efforts to reduce the incidence and intensity of COVID cases. The vehicle would be approximately the same size as a large U-Haul truck. The unit, plus necessary equipment, would be of no cost to the health department except for maintenance expenses, Robison said.
The health department sees uses for the mobile unit beyond COVID.
The department’s health center could make use of the vehicle to take services on the road – offering dental care, behavioral health visits, and primary health care. The mobile unit would have a small waiting room, plus rooms for dental and other health visits.
“We see this as an investment we can make use of over time,” Robison said.
Because of the lack of public transportation in the county, the mobile unit could be driven to corners of the county for a day of services. It would also be used for public health education in areas where public meeting places are lacking.
The mobile unit would not replace the brick and mortar health center, which is attached to the Wood County Health Department, according to Jerry Landers, interim CEO of the health center. The vehicle would take primary health, dental and behavioral health services on the road for people who may not be able to access them in Bowling Green.
Landers also said the mobile unit could make Wood County residents more aware of the health center services, and possibly result in more patients at the brick and mortar health center.
