For many decades, Pittsburg County had a small health department that cost more than $10,000 a month to rent.

But by Monday, the Pittsburg County Health Department should be open and running in a $3.5 million building across town from the old one, according to Mike Echelle, administrator.

The new building, at 1400 E. College Ave., is across the street from both the Warren Clinic to the north and the McAlester Regional Health Center to the northwest.

The move means that today is the last day anyone will visit the county’s decades-old health department on Third Street. It will be closed Thursday and Friday, and then people will go to the new health department.

In the meantime, the state health department can be reached at 405-271-5585.

Mike Echelle, PCHD administrator, said there are four trusties from the Oklahoma Corrections Industry who are moving “equipment and supplies and furniture,” this week at a cost of $4,450.

He added that the trusties are from the prison in Stringtown and are being watched by two Department of Corrections employees.

All of the computers are being moved and set up by information technology specialists from the state Department of Health, Echelle said.

The telephones are being installed by professionals, too. “The telephones are part of our contract with York Electronics. The telephone company will be installing telephones beginning (today) and the IT people will program them for us,” he said.

Birth and death certificates, a new feature at the Pittsburg County Health Department, won’t be available immediately, though. For the next few weeks people will still have to either drive to Oklahoma City or send a letter to get the certificates.

“The state Department of Health will do some preliminary testing of the network of the vital records unit to make sure everything from the Pittsburg County Health Department to the Oklahoma State Department of Health relays correctly.

“Our goal is to be ready to issue birth and death certificates by May 19,” Echelle said.

The original opening date of the health was pushed back from April 15 after the original contractor declared bankruptcy. The project was taken over a short time later, in February, by M. Ross, Inc., of Muskogee.

The building is designed so it can also be used as a site of mass decontamination and mass vaccinations. “Public health sits on the table with other emergency responders now,” Echelle said. “It was different prior to 9/11. We looked at the budget that was allocated to build, construct and furnish a new health department and how we had to think of how to make the most efficient use of those funds.

“We wanted to be as responsive as possible with this new building and the taxpayers’ money.”

The new health department features an audiology booth for hearing screenings of people of all ages; a dental exam room; a pharmacy area with locked cabinets and security cameras; ham radio stations and gas-powered backup generators in case of a power failure; 10 exam rooms, including one with a table that can be raised and lowered for wheelchair-bound patients; a behavioral health unit; and an isolation room with negative air flow for people with tuberculosis or rashes.

Also, there are RV hook-ups for mobile command units with sewer, water, telephone, electric and computer data capabilities.

“This is a health department and so much more,” Echelle said. “It’s a wonderful facility for the taxpayers. We are very proud of it, and worked hard to make it multi-purpose.

“Ninety-eight percent of the time it will be used as a regular health department, but if we need it for mass decontamination or mass vaccinations, we can do it.”



SPENDING YOUR TAX DOLLARS

Here is a breakdown of the $4.5 million received from bonds to build, furnish and equip the new Pittsburg County Health Department, according to Mike Echelle, administrator.

• $3,588,215 for construction of the building

• $70,523 for cabling and data ports to the Oklahoma Office of State Finance

• $83,755.98 in fees to the Oklahoma Development Finance Authority and the bond oversight committee for handling the bond money

• 301,290.85 to Architects in Partnership for drawing up the plans and overseeing the project

• $208,549 for telephone, security, audio/visual equipment, overhead paging and door access controls to York Electronics

• $121,539.53 the Oklahoma Corrections Industry for furniture

• $4,450 to OCI for moving expenses.

• $19,595.89 to Documantion, Inc. for a mobile filing system

• $12,700 to Helmer for medical equipment such as digitally controlled refrigerators for vaccine storage

• $16,992.62 to Ford Audio-Video

• Approximately $5,000 for landscaping, with the health department paying for trees and shrubs, and the city planting them.

• Approximately $5,000 in miscellaneous expenses, such as the etched logos of the state seal on the front doors and janitorial and lawn equipment

• Approximately $50,000 to cover unforeseen expenses and as a maintenance fund.