Community of Hope Health Clinic Executive Director Justin Johnston and Shelli Davis, Manager of Community Services for Shelby County. Photo by Leah Ingram Eagle
A public hearing to close the ADECA Block Grant Funding project was held by the Shelby County Commission during the May 22 meeting.
The grant in the amount of $307,564 was awarded to the county from the Alabama Department of Economic Community Affairs (ADECA) was awarded to the county during the pandemic.
The grant addressed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) CDBG Program's national objective of "meeting other urgent community needs posing a serious and immediate threat to the health or welfare of the community..."and to meet CDBG-CV Program performance goals of "preventing, preparing for, and responding to the spread of infectious diseases such as COVID-19".
Shelli Davis, Manager of Community Services for the county, said her department met with the Shelby County Emergency Management Agency and Community of Hope Health Clinic to discuss the best use of the funds.
The decision was made for the awarded funds to be used to purchase a mobile health clinic. It serves as a mobile testing and vaccination clinic used to meet the needs of the underserved, at-risk, and rural residents of the county, but also to serve all residents.
“A lot of communities didn't want to come to the vaccine events, so we went to them,” Davis said. “With our partnership with the Community of Hope Health Clinic, we used the volunteers in medicine model which helped us to deliver these services.
Since its arrival in October 2022, the mobile clinic has had 31 events and more are scheduled. It was able to deliver COVID and flu testing vaccine clinics throughout the county, including churches, senior centers, housing authorities, community events and at a domestic violence shelter.
“All over there are rural parts of the county and high risk areas,” Davis said. “This can provide community health education and assess other health issues.”
The clinic includes a unique equipment, including a medical grade refrigerator/freezer, a generator and backup generator, a rapid molecular tester that provides test results in six minutes, a surgical light for sanitization, and more.
County Manager Chad Scroggins said that Community of Hope has been a problem solver for the county.
“We appreciate them and they are vital to be able to take medical services into the community,” Scroggins. “Some residents don’t want to come to a government type building, and this way we are able to meet people where their needs are.”
Scroggins also mentioned plans for the Westover Water Services building project. It was originally budgeted from this year’s water services budget at $3 million, but the bid came in lower than projected at $2.49 million.
The current two houses on the property will be torn down, and the new building will provide 10 office spaces and warehouse space to properly store pieces of equipment.
During the county manager’s report, Scroggins shared that the track project at Chelsea High School has been completed and a few punch list items are being worked on and the turf project at Heardmont is underway.
County Engineer David Willingham said that the county’s resurfacing project is underway and over the next several weeks, work will take place in Chelsea at County Roads 11, 39, 41 and 433.
The county also recently debuted a refreshed website at shelbyal.com.
