Members of the Tillamook County Community Health Centers’ staff and board of directors gathered on April 19, to cut the ribbon and host an open house at the new public health service building on 8th Street in Tillamook.
The $1.3 million renovation and addition, which was completed in November 2023, is home to Tillamook County Community Health Centers’ (TCCHC) environmental health, women, infants and children nutrition, home visit and public health services programs.
Funding for the work came from an American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant awarded through the Health Resources and Services Administration for $549,567, which was matched by $684,109 from TCCHC. When accounting for the inclusion of a portable generator hookup system and architect fees as well as the purchase price of the building, also paid for by TCCHC, the project’s total cost tipped the scales at over $1.5 million.
TCCHC purchased the law office immediately adjacent to their main facility on 8th Street in Tillamook from the estate of the former owner in 2020 for $256,000. Initially, TCCHC planned to use the building in its unrenovated state to meet expanded needs during the coronavirus pandemic, but it quickly became apparent that even more space was needed.
That led to the decision to apply for the grant from the federal government following the 2021 passage of ARPA, with funds awarded in 2022.
Work then began to expand the building’s 1,181 square-foot footprint to allow it to house staffers who had previously been spread between TCCHC headquarters and several other buildings around town.
RSS Architects from Woodburn did design for the project while Cove Built LLC from Manzanita handled construction, with workers moving in last November.
The expanded building has room to house 19 workers, though it is not currently full. In addition to offices, and break and meeting rooms, there is an examination room for the women, infants and children nutrition program.
Public Health Deputy Director Rochelle “Rockie” Phillips said that the new building had helped to accommodate services which have expanded in recent years, while also opening the possibility for further expansion. Phillips also said that locating all staff in one location had helped to cut down on workflow inefficiencies.
At the ribbon cutting and open house, Tillamook County Community Health Council Member John Sandusky gave remarks on the project’s backstory and his disappointment that a skybridge linking it with the TCCHC’s main building had not been included.
Sandusky was then joined by Tillamook County Commissioner Erin Skaar, Administrator of Health & Human Services Marlene Putman, Phillips and Community Health Council Member Harry Coffman, who cut the ribbon.
Phillips then gave the assembled group a tour of the building, which also includes an exterior “Naloxbox” on the structure’s northwest corner containing the opioid-overdose-reversing medicine Naloxone and other supplies for those struggling with opioid abuse disorder.
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