Mold contaminates Ellenton clinic

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Mold contaminates Ellenton clinic

Moultrie Observer - Moultrie,GA*

Published December 12, 2007 -

http://www.moultrieobserver.com/local/local_story_346222519.html

The City of Ellenton received emergency funds this week from the

state to remediate a mold problem at the Ellenton Health Clinic.

Rep. Penny Houston, R-Nashville, sought and secured $20,000 from the

governor for removal of the contamination.

Mold contaminates Ellenton clinic

Lori Glenn

ELLENTON — The City of Ellenton received emergency funds this week

from the state to remediate a mold problem at the Ellenton Health

Clinic.

Rep. Penny Houston, R-Nashville, sought and secured $20,000 from the

governor for removal of the contamination.

In October, the county offered to assist the City of Ellenton in

inspecting and cleaning the clinic, County Administrator J.D. Byrd

said. County staff found surface mold in an office, the hallway and

the mechanical room. They increased the thermostat to 85 degrees for

several days and cleaned down the problem areas with a bleach

solution, Byrd said, adding that clinic staff had noticed the mold

on July 5 and failed to report the problem.

However, district health officials later called in an environmental

consulting group, Eagle Indoor Air Consultants, which noted mold

within the walls and recommended the underlying cause of the

moisture problem be corrected in the clinic.

Since Oct. 10, Ellenton clinic staff have been operating out of a

mobile unit. It's been " difficult, " Clinic Director

said.

" If it's raining, it's raining. If it's cold, it's cold. It's

miserable, " she said.

" It's very frustrating for everybody, not just for the City of

Ellenton. Although, believe me, we know that a small community does

not have a lot of money, " district public health spokesperson

Carolyn Maschke said, conveying the thoughts of Southwest District

Public Health Director Dr. Grant. " We're equally

frustrated, because the funds for that program itself comes from a

grant. ... The money used for that grant can't be used by law for

repairing the building. "

The concern also is that prospective patients would shy away from

the mobile units, Maschke said, thus compromising the number of

farmworkers and residents of Ellenton using the clinic and as a

result threatening the continuation of the federal grant that funds

the program.

No patients have been turned away, despite the circumstance,

assured.

" The staff has pulled together and worked really well in trying to

work through this difficult time, " she said.

Meanwhile, Communities in Schools students who usually meet at the

clinic after school are displaced. They are able temporarily to use

space at a Norman Park site, so hopes that the remediation

will be completed by the time students return to school after winter

break.

That might be wishful thinking, Maschke said, since the city would

have to go through the process of soliciting bids from contractors

before any work can be started.