MOUNT VERNON — If things go as planned, Knox Public Health will soon begin its move to a new location on West Vine Street.
“My vision for this first year is to move some administrative operations to 201 W. Vine St. by the end of this month,” Health Commissioner Zach Green told the county commissioners on Thursday.
In addition to Green, the finance department and the Knox County Community Health Center’s operations staff will relocate to the former Strang family home at 201 W. Vine. The move will free up desperately needed space at the Upper Gilchrist Road location.
“By the end of the year, the Strang Glass shop at 202 W. Vine will be ready,” he said. “Our goal is to remodel this for behavioral and medical services by the end of the year.”
KPH hired Green Valley Design to create the plans for the 4,000-square-foot building. Green said he knows that at some point a new building will be constructed to the west of the existing structure; Green Valley will take that into consideration when designing the plans to ensure a seamless addition.
On Jan. 1, 2022, Moore Family Practice at 206 S. Mulberry St. became part of the community health center. When the lease on that 4,000-square-foot space is up at the end of this year, staff and patient services will move into the renovated Strang Glass building.
The Care Now Clinic, operated by Behavioral Healthcare Partners, and Ogle Family Practice will remain in their location at 206 S. Mulberry St.
In other health news, Green shared financial statistics with the commissioners comparing 2021 and 2022.
In 2022, the health center had 8,833 unique patients, a 229% increase over the 3,856 in 2021. The staffing increase corresponded with the additional patients, reflecting a 141% increase year over year (35.18 full-time employees in 2021 to 49.63 FTEs in 2022).
Of the 3,856 patients seen in 2021, 2,125 applied for the center’s sliding fee schedule: 55% qualified at a cost of $3.4 million to the center.
In 2022, 5,281 patients applied for the discount: 60% qualified at a cost of $6.7 million.
“So, we are meeting that population that needs that care, but there is a cost,” Green said. “We are meeting the people where they are, and hopefully prevention efforts will result in preventing down the road chronic conditions that are really costly.”
Relating to Medicaid and SNAP benefits unwinding, Green said the first wave will be very detrimental with individuals losing $50 to $60 a week in food benefits.
“Our WIC [Women Infants and Children] program is likely to start seeing an increase,” he said. “The biggest threat is that after three years, are the addresses and phone numbers still valid? They may still qualify, but will they be able to be found to see if they still qualify?”
He said the health staff is ramping up its education efforts to notify patients they will have to re-enroll in Medicaid and will absorb the cost to get them re-qualified.
A pilot program between Knox Area Transit and KPH for a free, seven-stop fixed route is set to expire July 1. Green said he believes in the route and wants it to succeed, but he also said the ridership is not there to support the health department’s $60,000 investment.
He feels marketing efforts should be increased and include signage at the bus stops and clearly identified busses.
Green said renovations to the health center’s Danville clinic should be operational in early May. Painting, carpet, and other cleanup from the Christmas Day flooding in the Upper Gilchrist facility stemming from frozen pipes should be completed this week.
Senior housing
Duanna Patton, chief executive officer of Ohio District 5 Area on Aging, met with the commissioners on March 2. The agency plans to pilot an eight-unit apartment complex for seniors at 301-303 N. Norton St.
The Knox County Land Reutilization Corp., aka land bank, owns the parcels and will demolish the house at 303 N. Norton.
Patton deferred to the contractor on a groundbreaking date but said a firm timeline should be available sometime in the second quarter of this year.
“We are going to have a contractor on site during demolition so we know what we are looking at,” she told the commissioners. “The feasibility study is still underway. … We still have some gap money to put together, but until we have a set of plans, we’re not able to go forward with that.”
Patton said the goal is to get to the financial threshold of making rents affordable and maintaining the units.
“We’re not here to make money,” she said.
The commissioners committed $200,000 of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money to the project.
“I think it’s a perfect project,” Commissioner Teresa Bemiller said. “The land bank will do the demolition, and I think it’s a perfect location. We knew what Area on Aging is doing in other counties, and we were hoping we could do something here.
“And wrapping around your services with those folks is key,” she added.
“This could be the first step to several other complexes in the community,” agreed Commissioner Bill Pursel.
Knox Area Transit
Director Bethany Celmar said KAT is moving forward with the requested 24-hour advance notice for non-medical on-demand ride requests. She hired an office manager and a quality assurance customer experience staff member and spent time last month getting trained on the Ohio Department of Transportation funding process.
ODOT confirmed the county will get a grant for the new transit facility, but the amount is not known. The KAT facility is being refreshed with new paint and carpet cleaning.
Public viewing
The commissioners set a public viewing for March 30 at 11 am to view a portion of Deal Road in Wayne Township requested to be vacated. A public hearing is set for April 4 at 10 am.
