Health office to reopen in May after two-year renovation

Mold, water leaks forced county to make major repairs.

Clayton County leaders say they plan to reopen the county’s main health department in May, a little more than two years after mold and water leaks forced the facility’s closure.

The closing of the department sent residents scrambling to nearby Fayette and Henry for their healthcare needs, such a pre-natal advice, flu shots and breast and cervical cancer screen- ings.

Officials with the south metro community on Wednesday conducted a tour of the 100,000-square-foot Battlecreek Road building to unveil the renovations under way, including a new $1.5 million roof, an expanded waiting area that can accom- modate 200 people and a sound-insulated room for children with sensory issues.

The update also includes dedicating a portion of the facility to patients with airborne illnesses. That por- tion of the facility has its own ventilation system to keep the air from recirculating back into the building.

“In my native language, we say, ‘When God wants to put glory to a rich man’s house, he sets fire to it,’” Clayton Health District Interim Director Dr. Olugbenga Obasanjo, who is Nigerian, said during the tour. “I think that’s what happened here. This mold was us really having an opportunity to make this a health department of the future.”

Bringing the building back online is important to the county. Federal funding for healthcare is often tied to patient counts, especially with programs such as Medi- care and Women Infants and Children or WIC, and Clayton lost dollars when patients crossed county lines for help, Obasanjo said. The coun- ty’s clientele dropped from a total of about 3,000 peo- ple to around 700.

It also brings most county health care services back under one roof. The services were spread across four facil- ities after the main building closed, forcing patients to visit multiple locations to have their needs met.

Clayton closed the building in February 2018 after health department staff went into a room that had been closed for a month and found per- vasive mold, Obasanjo said.

“We immediately shut it down,” said County Commission Chairman Jeff Turner. “It’s about the safety and the welfare of the employees and the citizens.”

Remediation included getting rid of drywall, wip- ing down every surface and replacing equipment, offi- cials said.

“Our citizens are worth it,” Turner said. “They’re taxpayers and their money is going in to help renovate this and we want to provide a state-of-the-art facility for them.”

The renovations include the use of anti-fungal paint throughout the building, installing anti-bacterial countertops and setting up a kid’s activity room. Expectant mothers can expect private breast feeding areas while those looking to learn to cook can take classes in the department’s expanded cooking facilities.