Pickett Health Department To Expand Thanks To County-State Effort

The Pickett County Health Department will expand its facility, thanks to the joint effort of the county and state.

Tennessee Department of Health Facilities Specialist Josh Gipson said there should be an architect chosen for the project by the end of January. Gipson said they could break ground on the project as soon as early summer.

“It’s just a matter of the architect getting on board and his availability to draw the plans, and for the county and the mayor to approve the plans and the renovations we plan to make,” Gipson said. “After that, we’ll have a final plan approval and put it out for bid for contractors.”

Pickett Director of Health Andy Langford said plans for the expansion include a conference room for use by the county and local citizens, an addition to the building’s drug room, a new bathroom, and more storage to provide space for future growth. Langford said the funds were allocated to this project because the current building is twenty-four years old and becoming outdated.

“It has been kept up very well, and a good facility as it is, but over time, you know, you’re always needing new, new things over a period as far as more room and just more technological advances,” Langford said.

Langford said the expansion may also include a stronger generator that could be shared with the county’s emergency services.

“With medical facilities, we know that we need to have a better generator in place for, just not a medical situation here but for the county to utilize in the need of a, you know, a weather situation,” Langford said.

Langford said the state and county allocated funds for the expansion using ARP funding, $367,300 from the state and $98,100 from the county, plus $100,000 from the state through the CARES act.

Gipson said the money from the CARES act must to be used by the end of this year, and the rest by the end of 2026.

County Executive Stephen Bilbrey said he is grateful to the members of the state’s health department who came to the county to work on the project.

“I think this will be a great asset to our community, so we just appreciate all the collaboration that we’ve got with the state and the local county commissioners,” Bilbrey said. “And so I think this will be a great project for Pickett County.”