After approximately a year and a half and $5.5 million worth of upgrades, officials recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Forrest County Health Department, which was rebuilt to offer residents improved services, technology and aesthetics.
The event was held May 9 at the site of the former center, 5008 Old Highway 42 in Hattiesburg, and was attended by officials from Forrest County, the City of Hattiesburg and the Mississippi State Department of Health, among others.
““You are now standing in what I believe to be the most modern, up-to-date health department in the south,” said Chad Bridges, southern region administrator for the MSDH. “Clinic rooms are larger and more efficient than ever before, and we now have space for (Women, Infant and Children program) education, breast-feeding classes, employee training.
“We have room for storage of vaccines and supplies in the event of a mass vaccination, and we have a covered area at the back of the building where vaccines can be administered at this clinic, instead of us having to relocate as we did during the COVID pandemic. This building is more than we could have ever hoped for. Through this effort, we now have a modern facility for the citizens of Forrest County that will serve this area for many, many years to come.”
The funds for the project were provided by the American Rescue Plan Act – the $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package passed by the federal government to help the United States recover from the COVID-19 pandemic – along with monies from Forrest County and other sources. The refurbished facility offers a drive-through vaccination center, additional exam rooms, extra space and more technology.
In addition, the building – which had not been renovated in several years – offers 2,000 extra square feet at the front of the facility, along with a new roof and more parking. Larry Albert of Hattiesburg served as architect on the project.
“To have a world-class, true medical facility – not just a county building that the people of Forrest County deserve – (is great),” said Daniel Edney, state health officer for the MSDH. “We’re going to make sure that all the children in Forrest County and the surrounding areas have access to vaccinations; we will be working with our maternal infant health programs to try to improve maternal infant outcomes in this area.
“The HIV/STD work, attacking syphilis and the scourge of congenital syphilis, will be happening out of this building. When you go to a doctor, you don’t want to go to a raggedy building – you want to go to a modern, professional clinic, and we are providing that.”
County officials committed approximately $1 million from their funds from ARPA to the project. Roughly $1 million of the county’s general fund went toward the renovations, and the MSDH contributed slightly more than $2.5 million.
The remaining money was split between ARPA funding and carryover funds from the county’s general fund.
“My dad, (Dr. Marcus Hogan), who was an OBGYN for 40 years and served on the board of trustees at Forrest General Hospital, used to go to the health department once a week on his lunch hour to see patients,” said David Hogan, former president of the Forrest County Board of Supervisors, who helped secure funding for the renovations. “He raised me and my siblings to know the importance of the health department and our publicly-owned hospital, Forrest General Hospital, so there is a personal connection there for me that has always resonated because of the way we were raised by him.”
Hanco Corporation of Hattiesburg was the low bidder on the project.
During renovations on the building, the health department temporarily moved into a location of Klondyke Street in that previously had served as home to the Hattiesburg Police Department. On November 8, 2022, Hattiesburg City Council members approved a lease agreement with Forrest County officials for the use of a portion of that property for a term ending on June 30, 2025.
Under the agreement, Forrest County paid the City of Hattiesburg a rate of $2,550 per month, which included the current pro-rata cost of property insurance and utilities, such as gas and electric.
“We are so excited to be here to celebrate this state-of-the-art facility,” said Terri Bell, president of the Forrest County Board of Supervisors. “It’s just really important that we have great primary care in this area, and this is going to be able to deliver it.
“We’re so excited; it’s such a beautiful facility.”
