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The proposed 13,000 square foot Coffee County Health Department facility will include among other design elements a sprinklers system that though not required at its current size, would be required with future expansion.

During a report at the Capital Outlay Committee meeting on Feb.1, project engineer Scot St. John gave a report of the progress of the designs, currently proceeding with the elevation views, the exterior views and the materials schematics.

This update follows a highly detailed overview with the designers and state and local stakeholders.

“We met Jan. 5,” Engineer Scot St. John said. “The (County) Mayor (Jud Matheny) was in the meeting, the state and local health department officials. We spent a couple of hours really getting into the nuts and bolts of the floorplans.”

“We were very close on the first layout on the first floor plans,” he said. “We have met at various times… We knew kind of what they were after.”

“The footprint seems like it’s not going to change,” St. John said. “The mechanical engineering is working with us right now to work on the space layout.”

The plans, Matheny notes include a sprinkler system that could be omitted in current design by including the proper firewalls.

“In the future, some future mayor and commission will thank us for putting in a sprinkler system now,” he said. Including the system from the ground up will be much cheaper than retrofitting the design when need for any expansion.

The designs allow for expansion on the rear side of the building. With neighboring county parcels not going to a future TCAT site, the orientation of the facility has been moved and, per the input from the state, parking space has been reduced.

Planners hope to be able to include architectural designs like vaulted ceilings that are not as “sterile” as other office complexes.

The budget for the project is about $4.6 million, coming mostly from COVID relief money.

“Everything right now is within our budget confines,” Matheny said. “We’re still there.”

County Board of Health updated

Pam Browning, County Health Director, recently provided the Coffee County Board of Health with an update on the current status of the department.

According to minutes from that meeting, the estimated building cost is $325 per square foot, building size is to be determined but was estimated at 10,000-12,000 square feet.

It is expected to include space for 19-20 employees, nurse station, 10 clinic rooms, drive through services capability, medication room, laboratory, break room/conference room, storage space and be designed with possible future expansion in mind.

An update on staffing changes since May 2023 was provided. According to the report, the health department has had two Registered Nurses retire. New positions pending include a Registered Nurse transfer, and vacant Nutrition Educator, LPN and Disease Intervention Specialist.

Since the closing and subsequent sale of the Manchester Clinic, a WIC satellite clinic is held in Manchester at the Coffee County Administrative Plaza. The clinic is currently open on Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

According to Browning’s report, since Aug. 10, 2023, approximately 187 WIC participants have been served.

Coffee County Health Department also provided flu vaccines to students at Tullahoma City Schools, Manchester City Schools and Coffee County Schools. A new outreach project is a partnership with Head Start and Early Head Start to screen children for lead, check hemoglobin, do an oral health assessment and provide fluoride varnish.