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New Lobby Opens at Okfuskee County Health Department

New Lobby Opens at Okfuskee County Health Department
By Alanna Bradley
ONL Reporter

Okfuskee County residents have a new front lobby at the health department. The department, located at 125 N. 2nd St. in Okemah, opened its doors to the new lobby recently. The project, which totaled around $111,000, features new LED lighting, seating, flooring, partition walls to aid in client privacy, and walls that provide safety for clerical staff assisting clients.

The project was completed by RECO Construction out of Tulsa. Demolition of the old lobby began in January 2022. One new feature in the lobby that kids will enjoy is a projector that will project interactive games onto the floor for them to play while in the waiting room.

“We are excited to have this project completed and look forward to welcoming residents into the clinic,” said Dana Fox, administrative assistant at the health department.

While the department has always offered all its regular services during the renovations, residents had been directed to enter through a door on the west side of the building while work was completed. Now residents can enter through the front doors again. Fox said residents can expect the same level of service from the clinic they have always received. They should look to the clinic for opportunities to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, testing, traditional vaccinations, and other health-focused programs. Appointments for vaccinations and testing can be made online at the Okfuskee County Health Department website.

“Mondays and Thursdays tend to be our busiest days due to several clinics,” said Fox. “Testing and vaccines, for COVID, can be made through an appointment online which makes things easy for people because they can fill out any paperwork before they arrive for their appointment.”

Fox suggested local guardians consider bringing their children in now for vaccinations before school starts. She said late August is a busy time as school starts back up. School vaccines are available for those with no insurance, underinsured, enrolled in Medicaid, American Indian, or Alaska Native.

“If your children are needing immunizations, it’s a good time to come in now and not wait until school starts because once school starts, we get busy with other things along with school so it’s not as convenient,” said Fox. “If parents will look at their shot records and figure out which ones they need, then contact us to schedule we can get them in and out. Now is a good time because it’s much less busy and more convenient.”

The Health Department is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Fox said an open house for the community is scheduled for Friday, August 5 from 2-4 p.m. She said they are currently in the midst of decorating the new lobby and are considering featuring landmark and landscape scenes from around Okfuskee County.

The clinic also offers mobile wellness units. Residents can follow the Okfuskee County Health Department Facebook page for more information on when those are scheduled. The units travel to area communities to offer COVID testing and vaccinations, school vaccines, body mass height/weight checks, cholesterol, glucose, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and blood pressure checks. Recently, those units visited the Boley and Clearview communities.

For more information on scheduling an appointment for a COVID test, vaccination, and/or to learn more about the services offered at the clinic, which include adult and child health, tobacco prevention, SoonerStart/Early Intervention, and WIC (a federal nutrition program for Women, Infants, and Children) among other services, residents can visit the Okfuskee County Health Department page on the Oklahoma.gov website located at this link: https://oklahoma.gov/health/locations/county-health-departments/okfuskee-county-health-department.html.

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