Wood County Commissioners Robert Tebey, Jimmy Colombo and Blair Couch discuss the proposed relocation of the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department to St. Joseph's Landing during Thursday's regular meeting while Wood County Executive Marty Sufer listens and answers questions. (Photo by Brett Dunlap) Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department Executive Director Eric Walker speaks about the health department's proposed relocation to St. Joseph's Landing. Officials are still working out the terms of the lease, which is expected to be finalized next week. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)
Wood County Commissioners Robert Tebey, Jimmy Colombo and Blair Couch discuss the proposed relocation of the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department to St. Joseph's Landing during Thursday's regular meeting, with Wood County Executive Marty Sufer listening and answering questions. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)
PARKERSBURG — Final details are being worked out on a proposed lease that would allow the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department to relocate to St. Joseph Landing, county commissioners announced Thursday.
The Wood County Commission had included “Discussion and Consideration of the MOV Health Department Lease” on its Thursday agenda, but Health Department Director Patty Hardy and Wood County Prosecutor Pat Lefebure were unable to attend the meeting, and officials had invited them to attend to discuss certain aspects of the proposed lease.
The MOVHD office has been closed since Memorial Day due to extensive damage caused by a burst water main to its building at 211 Sixth Ave. in Parkersburg, and since then, health department operations have been conducted in various locations around town.
The health department will take over the former St. Joseph Hospital emergency department and the fourth floor of the medical office building on the site. The health department will take over the space for women's and children's services that PARS operated there for several years, so there will be exam rooms and other amenities that won't have to be built anew for the health department when it moves in.
The MOVHD board met recently at St. Joseph Landing, where board members toured the space the health department hopes to use, said board member and Wood County Commission Chairman Blair Couch.
Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department Director Eric Walker talks about the health department's proposed relocation to St. Joseph's Landing. Officials are still reviewing the terms of the lease, which is expected to be finalized next week. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)
“There was general agreement that this was the one that made the most sense for us,” he said. “With easy access to parking and being on a bus route, it's perfect.”
Officials also praised St. Joseph's abundant parking compared to the downtown Sixth Street building.
Hardy has proposed some changes to the lease and plans to communicate them to other board members to adjust the proposed lease, the people said, adding that he has written a two-page memo about what he feels needs to be addressed in the lease. Hardy is the former CEO of St. Joseph's Hospital and secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services.
There are also plans to hook up refrigerators and freezers to backup generators on the site, as some medicines require low temperatures for storage.
MOVHD Executive Director Eric Walker said all staff at the health department are excited about the move.
“I haven't heard anyone say anything negative about the move,” he said. “Everyone is really excited.”
Couch said the complex already houses the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Workforce Development Board and St. Joseph Recovery.
The final rent amount has yet to be determined, but officials believe it could be around $20,000 a month. Officials said a final decision on the rent is expected by Monday.
Commissioner Jimmy Colombo said many people don't know what goes on at the health department.
“I don’t think a lot of people understand the scope of what the health department does,” he told Walker. “You have a lot of customers.
“When we talk about transforming a building, it's not just about transforming a building, it's about making it serve more people.”
Colombo and Walker agreed that the new location will have a more “clinical” and “professional” look for members of the public who visit to receive a variety of services from the health department.
“I love the feel of this building,” Colombo says.
Walker said the move will begin in stages as space becomes available.
“We're going to work primarily department by department over time,” Walker said. “Each department will move in in a rotation as their work is completed and they're ready to move in.”
Walker said a top priority will be bringing in programs for women and young children — most of which currently just needs a fresh coat of paint, he said. Clinical services will be located in the area that was formerly the emergency room at St. Joseph's Hospital.
“There's going to be some construction work done there,” Walker said. “That's going to be a priority.”
Next up is the finance department, whose personnel are now working remotely and connected to slow servers.
IT systems, internet and secure servers need to be put in place.
“It's going to take time,” Walker said. “It's going to be a process.”
St. Joseph Landing Building Manager John Defibaugh was scheduled to attend Thursday, and he plans to attend Monday's meeting as well.
“They'll all be here on Monday,” Couch said.
In other matters, the county continues to work to resolve heating and cooling issues at the Shaver Judicial Building, which houses Wood County Circuit Court.
Judge Jason Wharton, who appeared before the committee, said the temperature in one of the courtrooms rose to nearly 80 degrees during a day when it was 70 degrees outside. Temperatures are expected to reach 90 degrees next week, and court officials are concerned the temperatures could get even hotter during jury trials.
The building's air conditioning system is operating at about 25% capacity.
The part has been ordered and shipped but we don't know where it is. Plans are being made to evaluate the building's HVAC system and determine what needs to be done.
Get the latest news from the day and more delivered to your inbox
