Green Country Behavioral Health celebrates opening of new facility

Cathy Spaulding, Muskogee Phoenix, Okla.
·2 min read

Oct. 5—A new medical services building offers more room for patients at Green Country Behavioral Health.

"It has been really nice," said GCBH Nursing Director Leigh. "Our clients don't always get the newest and best of things."

GCBH and Arkansas Verdigris Valley Muskogee Health Center have been using the 16,000-square-foot facility, noted for its yellow and blue exterior, since early September. It was built on Martin Luther King Street, just west of the facility the health center and GCBH have shared for several years.

GCBH moved its medication clinic and pharmacy to the building's second floor, which also has a large conference room and an adjoining balcony.

"All the rest of our outpatient services remain in the other building," Combs said, adding that space once occupied by Muskogee Health Center will be renovated into clinician offices.

She said GCBH hired 40 new staff members last fall.

"It definitely allows us to create offices for them," she said.

Combs said 40 to 50 clients a day come to the medication clinic.

"It just creates a little more privacy," she said.

The conference room can be used for staff meetings or lectures, Combs said. Technology to enhance presentations will be installed, she said.

GCBH Medical Director Tisa Newton said she welcomed the conference room.

"We have a lot of educational things," she said. "Every Tuesday, we have a lecture."

GCBH Executive Director Joy Sloan said the conference room can fit 200 people.

The new building also is more accessible to the public, she said.

"Having all the medical services relocated allows us space for our ever-expanding needs," Sloan said. "Plus, it gives our partners space to expand their services. All medical services will now be located in one building and more accessible to the public."

In 2021, Sloan said the new building could allow GCBH to add 15 to 20 new offices in its older facility. She said two or three therapists or case managers had to share an office.

Arkansas Verdigris Valley moved its community health center into the first floor. The center receives federal funding to provide health services.

Medical assistant Cindy Berry said she loves having lots of space in the new building.