Comanche County Health Department will expand its facility with a new drive-thru clinic, parking area

Comanche County Health Department has plans to expand.

Comanche County Commissioners recently took the final step for that project last week, acting in their capacity as the Comanche County Facilities Authority to approve an agreement with Lawton Public Schools for a 50-year lease of land on the south side of the health department. The department at 1010 S. Sheridan is just north of land held by Lawton Public Schools for its Marvin Bicket and Wes Silk School Farm, and the 150-foot strip that the health department needs will come from that space.

The building will serve multiple purposes, said Brandie Combs, regional administrative director for the Oklahoma State Department of Health’s Region 5.

That includes one use that became increasingly important during the COVID-19 pandemic: drive-thru vaccination clinics. The health department typically performs those clinics at other sites, to include the Comanche County Fairgrounds to the north and the Lawton Farmers Market in downtown Lawton. But, those sites aren’t always completely suitable, and Combs said that’s why other plans are being made.

She said that will be the primary use for the new facility, giving the health department its own setting for events to vaccinate, test and medicate the public, in a drive-through setting that provides greater ease and safety for residents.

“This could be anything from annual flu shots to a tetanus booster clinic in the event of a natural disaster,” Combs said.

The new facility also will be designed with space for meetings, settings that can be used for public health planning or public groups. It also will allow the health department to expand services it already provides, such as child passenger safety seat checks, bicycle safe events and training. A third use is a bow to the June 15 hail storm that caused extensive damage: covered parking space for mobile health units, a medical trailer and other department vehicles.

“The lean-to will allow us to park state and county vehicles, hopefully offering some protection from hail storms,” Combs said, adding vehicles now are parked outside, the reason many were damaged by the June hail storm.

While health department officials know where the new building will be located, designs have not been finalized. But, officials envision a facility with an enclosed area around hard surface floors large enough for two lanes of vehicles for drive-through events, and an open air awning on the north side of the structure for parking. Costs haven’t been finalized.

“The size of the building will be driven by cost,” Combs said, of a project to be funded by American Rescue Plan Act funding designated to the health department.

Combs said while the health department has had successful partnerships with community entities for its drive-thru clinics, the two most popular sites are busy locations that aren’t always available for a multiple-day event. And, there are issues with protection from the elements and impeding traffic when looking at other locations. So, while the health department will continue partnerships with the Lawton Farmers Market and Comanche County Fairgrounds, it’s time for its own facility.

“We will be next door to our main site, which means easy access to medication, testing and vaccine inventory. Therefore, we won’t have to risk temperature excursions and loss of vaccine and/or medication,” Combs said. “We will be able to stand up this facility in literally a matter of minutes, if the need every arises.”

Don Armes, a former agriculture teacher who is protective of the Marvin Bicket and Wes Silk School Farm, said the health department’s proposal won’t impede activities at the 8-acre school farm on the corner of South Sheridan Road and West Lee Boulevard.

That hasn’t been true in the past, he said, pointing to a proposal made about 20 years ago to sell the school farm for commercial development. Armes was among those who objected, saying the property has been an important component of LPS’ school agriculture program since Marvin Bicket (a long-time ag teacher) created it in 1944. It was a use strongly supported by Wesley Silk, an LPS administrator and school board member.

That’s also why the school farm is named after both men, Armes said.

“Several generations of kids have passed through,” Armes said, of the importance of retaining that acreage for student agriculture. “They were ‘kid men’. They really cared about education and kids.”

Armes said that’s why he remains protective of the school land, but he said the health department’s proposal will easily fit into the area.

“Their expansion is not really detrimental to the mission of the school farm,” he said, adding there also is the potential of naming the new facility after Bicket and Silk. “We allow the health department to make their minimal expansion and in the meantime, the legacy of those two great educators is secured.”