By Howard Greninger
TERRE HAUTE — Vigo County health officials are seeking to relocate the Well Child and Communicable Disease clinics into one office in a section of the Vigo County Annex, which will become available in April.
However, Paul Mason, president of the county Board of Commissioners, said commissioners first want to review which county agencies pay rent for space and which county facilities are not fully used. The annex, at First and Oak streets, has about 25,000 square feet now rented to Union Hospital. The county receives $15,000 a month for that space until April 1.
Joni Foulkes, director of operations for county Health Department, told commissioners Tuesday that the county’s Well Child Clinic is the only agency remaining in the Hyte Center.
“Several major concerns with the Well Child Clinic being kept at Hyte Center include it is an unstable environment. The building is unlocked and there is not a property manager. People come in and out of the building throughout the day who have no business there,” Foulkes said.
“Our staff is there and someone may think that there may be drugs or other resources such as money, so we worry about the staff,” Foulkes said.
In November, the clinic was without heat. If electrical power is lost, it would mean the spoiling of vaccinations used for children’s immunization programs, which is about $30,000 worth. The Health Department currently pays $11,300 a year for 2,271 square feet for the Well Child Clinic. Combining the Well Child and Communicable Disease clinics into one office in the annex could allow for a reduction in staff of one supervisor and a sharing of computers and printers, Foulkes said. The Communicable Disease Clinic currently operates out of a small office on the east side of the annex.
Foulkes said the department serves children throughout the county and the annex is centrally located. Mason, however, said Hyte Center is in an area where many children are served. Mason also believes the county has to consider renting out some of the annex space to earn money for the county.
Commissioner David Decker said commissioners should quickly develop a spread sheet showing where county property is located, how much rent is paid by each county agency and consider “the strengths of staying there, concerns of staying there and looking at the facilities we have and what are our alternatives, so we can get the best use of our facilities.”
One other possible use of the 25,000-square-foot space, also under consideration by commissioners, is moving the county’s engineering department to the annex and expanding that department.
Howard Greninger can be contacted at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.
