Spirits were high Wednesday afternoon while three Porter County Government departments showed off their renovated spaces following a $1.5 million upgrade funded with American Rescue Plan Act and Senate Bill 4 money.
The project, which began in November, included moving the Coroner’s and Veterans Services offices to new, bigger spaces while doubling the size of the health department.
“It’s nice to finally have space for everybody,” said Kris Centrino, a contract grant specialist for the health department.
It expanded from three to four exam rooms and now has a bathroom for patients who previously had to go out into the lobby to find one. The office also gained a dirty room, a clean room, a meeting room, a light-filled lunch room, more office space, and a cozy lounge the staff has filled with photos of their pets for relaxing breaks.
“Before, it was four nurses in one office. Now it’s two,” said nursing supervisor Crystal Coffey.
Fresh paint, finishes and office furniture make the spaces feel brand new. A mini-split in the vaccine room will also protect the many expensive, specialized refrigerators required to store vaccines.
“It has to be temperature-controlled,” Coffey said. “It’s a big deal that this is cooled and doesn’t wear out our equipment as fast.”
The entire project was made possible when the Voter Registration Office moved from the lower level of the administration building to 157 Franklin St. Veterans services and the coroner’s offices took over that former space and grew by 100% and 50% respectively.
Staff in Veterans Services now have offices in which to sit, rather than being out in the middle of the space, which posed privacy issues for the clients they serve. They also gained a kitchenette to make their time with veterans more hospitable.
“They didn’t have a sink and they wanted to be able to make coffee for veterans,” explained Commissioner Barb Regnitz, R-Center.
The office also gained a waiting room. “We had to go find them before they came into their appointment,” said Khristian Molchan, director of Veterans Services, of clients who were previously forced to wait in the hallway.
Regnitz may have been most proud of the improved storage throughout the renovation. “I was so claustrophobic,” she said of the former spaces, “because the hallways were stacked with stuff on either side.”
“It’s exceeded all of our expectations,” said Board of Health member Robyn Lane. “And I’m really happy for the veterans, too, because they didn’t have any room before.”
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Her mom, Penny Kuzmich, said the boost to staff morale was obvious. She said she could see “the encouragement” on their faces. “And they’re ready to do more,” she said, having overheard excited chatter and exchanges of ideas.
Staff expect public morale will be up upon coming into the health department as well. “It feels very professional, which is what people deserve when they come into a public space,” said Food Safety Inspector Carrie Batson.
The public will have more user-friendly access to her section of the health department with a new, dedicated window for the Food and Environmental Division. The Vital Records Division also has a dedicated window now and the main health department window offers a handicap-accessible counter at wheelchair height.
The completed renovation is part of a slew of projects that are seeing improvements to 40 different areas throughout the county, according to Facilities Director Joe Wiszowaty. A total of $6.5 million is being spent between four county buildings, including a nearly $1 million contract set to be awarded Tuesday for new heat pumps at the Juvenile Detention Center.
A suite of comfort rooms in the Porter County Courthouse has just been refreshed for use by victims, the Election & Registration Department just applied for a permit with the city of Valparaiso for renovations there following catastrophic flooding, and $18 million in renovations continue for phase II at the Porter County Jail.
Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.