A new home for health in Amarillo: APHD moving to new location

From Staff Reports
·2 min read

Long before the pandemic, over the past decade, the Amarillo Public Health Department has outgrown its location at 1000 Martin Rd.

Fortunately, the department found a solution right next door.

APHD will open at its new location on Monday, May 16, at 850 Martin Rd. The new building, which is a remodeled clinical facility, will allow APHD to better serve the health needs of the public by expanding its physical space, according to a news release from the city.

The new Amarillo Public Health Department building located at 850 Martin Road more than doubles the capacity to handle residents of Amarillo.
The new Amarillo Public Health Department building located at 850 Martin Road more than doubles the capacity to handle residents of Amarillo.

“We were really fortunate to have a building right next to our old location that meets our needs as APHD continues to grow in the future,” said Amarillo Director of Public Health Casie Stoughton in the release. “We had simply run out of space at the old building.”

The new building will consist of 17,061 square feet, compared to the old building with

11,632 square feet. In addition, no city funds were used for the renovation project, which cost $1.9 million, or about $120 per square foot; APHD utilized funding from a state-administered program, which was approved by Amarillo City Council.

"This will be our final home," Stoughton said. "Over the past two years we moved locations over nine times and we have had a lot of moving with team members all over the place. It will be nice to have our whole team together in one place."

Stoughton said that the new building will more than double space for services with the new building serving clinical services.

APHD will keep the original building at 1000 Martin Road for non-clinical services.

“Additional space was our main need,” Stoughton said. “Before the COVID-19 pandemic, our team was out of space. With the addition of staff (some related to COVID and some not), the new building is critical.”

Close to 40 APHD employees will work at the new building. There will be 24 patient rooms at the new location, including a nurses’ station and laboratory space.

“Without the new building, APHD would be unable to grow,” Stoughton said. “With the addition, we can now pursue grants expanding both clinical and non-clinical services addressing needs in our community.”

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Amarillo Public Health Dept. moves to new location next door