Over four years of planning and work officially came to an end Friday when dedication and ribbon cutting ceremonies were held at the East Central Oklahoma Family Health Center.
Located at the Shurden-Liest Industrial Park, the medical facility provides medial, dental and mental health services for local residents. It is housed in a new, state-of-the-art 5,600 square foot building.
Construction started in late 2016 and the Health Center moved in late last summer.
Donna Dyer, Health Center CEO, said the process was long and included work with Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the city of Henryetta. She said all regulations were complied with through the help of those agencies. “We saw the need that more doctors and dentists and a larger mental health area to cover were needed in the area.
“This grant was from the HIRSA Health Infrastructure Investment program and was $1.8 million,” she added.
ECO board member Hubert Welch said he could remember when the area was used by Eagle Pitcher as a smelter and needed to be cleaned up.
Vernon Stout, ECO board chairman told the nearly 75 present that it took three attempts to get the grant for the facility.
Oklahoma Primary Care Association head Dee Porter said her organization is the trade association for federally-qualified health centers in the state. There are over 20 grantees in the state that have served over 220,000 people last year. The Henryetta site served over 5,000 people. She praised the staff and facility.
“None of this would have been possible without EPA and DEQ. This was a smelter site. You see grass growing, you see a nice fancy building. It was a lot of hard work because she (Donna Dyer) had a lot of backlash,” said Henryetta mayor Jennifer Munholland. She was referring to a number of emails that had been sent to the federal and state agencies contesting the site selection alleging saying it is still polluted. That outcry resulted in an evening public meeting with both agencies going over the work that had been done and providing the city with a certificate saying the land was available for use.
State Senator Roger Thompson presented Dyer with a citation from the Senate praising her and the Health Center for the work involved in opening the site.
“Anything that is worth doing will have challenges,” he said. “Those who are strong and those who are dedicated oftentimes win.”
He pointed out health care is one of the main questions asked by companies wanting to move to an area.
ODEQ executive director, Scott Thompson said the cleanup of the site was a major cooperative effort and a perfect example of state, federal and local governments working together. He said this part of the state works together to get things done.
EPA representative Kenneth Wagner likened the completion of the health care facility to, “an angel getting his wings.” He said each site cleanup unburdens the communities. “Now think of the thousands who will be helped. It will change the lives of many people,” he added.
Anna Idsal administrator for EPA region 6 in Dallas said this is the first time she had ever been to a ribbon cutting was the first for a superfund site
This is a great example of I can’t think of a better way to reuse a superfund site than to make sure that the public health of individuals in your community is going to be served. Because of these efforts, today we can celebrate yet another formerly contaminated property being brought back into economic use, with the people of Henryetta and surrounding communities benefitting for years to come.”
She presented both the city of henryetta and the clinic with Excellence of Site Reuse awards.
The Eagle-Picher Mining and Smelting company donated the smelter property to the city of Henryetta in 1974. Unaware of metals contamination in the waste piles, the city used soil from the site as fill material at neighborhoods, schools and parks across the community. EPA partnered with ODEQ for the extensive cleanup, making sure the final remedy was compatible with the community’s goals for reusing the formerly contaminated areas. The new health center is the latest component of these reuse plans, which already produced the Shurden Leist Industrial Park.
The community health center will provide primary health, dental health and behavioral health care services. EPA participated in community information sessions and issued a Ready for Reuse Determination to support community efforts to leverage resources for the clinic. In May 2016, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded the project a $1 million grant.
