The prospect of a new Hamilton County Health Department with a smaller footprint prompted questions from county commissioners Wednesday about the government’s obligations.
The health department building on East Third Street has been a primary provider of services, including immunization, dental care and pregnancy testing to low-income and uninsured county residents since it opened decades ago. Two recent developments will shift the way the department is run.
County Mayor Weston Wamp, along with leaders from Erlanger Health and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, announced in October a plan to sell the current building to Erlanger and relocate the health department to a property near Engel Stadium. Days later, the county fired the administrator of the health department, Sabrina Novak.
Since then, county officials have discussed how to approach the health department relocation, how a new building might look and how services the department offers might change. During the first meeting of a committee to look into issues concerning public health, commissioners asked what services the county health department is required to provide.
They also asked whether some services had been added without mandates and how many people work for the department.