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Health department and EMS directors outline structural problems and space shortages at county facilities
Summary
Finney County health and EMS directors told the commission on Feb. 3 that their existing buildings have water intrusion, ventilation and space problems that affect operations, staff safety and recruitment. Directors urged consideration of a new facility and the county's participation in planning.
Shruti Chhabra, director of the Finney County Health Department, told commissioners the department has occupied its current building since 1991 and described ongoing structural and safety concerns that have affected clinical operations and public access.
Chhabra said exterior water collection and seepage cause flooding in the basement and clinical areas during some weather events. "Whenever that happens, we have to implement infection control protocols," she said, and noted the elevator can become nonfunctional when flooding occurs. Chhabra described limited clinical room size, insufficient vaccine-storage capacity, inadequate secure pharmaceutical storage and an undersized WIC area in the basement without reliable ventilation.
"We don't have sufficient space to accommodate new things that we are trying to do and keep up the operations that we already have," Chhabra said. The health director said storage, patient-waiting areas and employee parking are limited and that adverse weather makes external walkways slippery.
Skyler Soares, director of Finney County EMS, described parallel problems at the current EMS facility: repeated water leaks, mold risk, erosion under sidewalks and an oversized garage door and operator that require frequent repair. Soares said three sleeping rooms lack exterior windows and the building has no dedicated fire-suppression system for those sleeping areas.
Soares also said the EMS parking lot requires frequent patching, storage is constrained and the existing building was never designed as a modern ambulance station. "We have a definite need for a modern updated facility also for recruitment and retention," he said, noting the county's fleet size and response needs.
Commissioners said they had toured the facilities and expressed support for seeking a long-term solution. Board members also noted the new city Station 3 (a joint fire/EMS facility under construction) contains features the county could not have afforded alone and encouraged continued coordination among the county, city and EMS for final siting and program requirements.
No formal procurement or construction contract was approved at the meeting; staff said they would continue planning work and share design documents and bid materials for review with the commissioners.
