Gaston County plans $12 million face-lift for health department building

The Gaston County Department of Health and Human Services is planning a significant renovation that will remake the interior of the department to create a building that is easier to navigate and suitable for multiple purposes.

The health department expects to spend around $12 million on the renovation, money that will come from federal funds accumulated over time as part of a cost recovery program, not county funding, said Assistant Health Director Brittain Kenney.

Health department staff hope to begin the renovation in 2023, but they are still in the early stages of planning how exactly they want to transform the more than 30-year-old building at 991 W. Hudson Blvd., Kenney said.

"If I walk you around, you'll see lots of very fragmented clinics," Kenney said. "And we want this building to be more flexible for whatever public health looks like in the future."

They also want to "maximize the space" that they have, make the building easier for visitors to navigate, and create opportunities for parts of the building to offer other county resources.

"You know, if we have another public health emergency, having a building where we can quickly transition spaces to a new COVID clinic or to a war room to have our emergency operations operating out of, just having a lot more of that flexibility versus the the bricks and mortar isolated areas that we have now," Kenney said.

"Currently, pretty much the only people who come in here have some sort of health care appointment or need," she added. "So I think one of the questions we're asking is, what other resources could we put in here, whether that is open space to come sit to come check out a library book, to use technology, to turn in paperwork for other departments, what things would help the community? And then while they're here, we can also take care of their health needs, or vice versa."

They want the newly designed building to be "something that is really welcoming and open," and that "creates a great working environment for staff in addition to a great experience for patients."

Health department staff plan to have a public meeting about the renovation, as they want to hear from the public about what kind of community needs the renovation could help fulfill.

They do not yet have a target date for when they'll begin the renovation, but the work is expected to take around two years, and the health department will remain open during that time.

Reporter Kara Fohner can be reached at 704-869-1850 or at kfohner@gannett.com. Support local journalism by subscribing here.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Gaston County plans to spend $12 million on health department building