LAWTON – The Comanche County Health Department is planning to break ground for the agency’s public health preparedness building in mid-summer, according to health department officials.
Sealed bids were due at the Comanche County Courthouse by the close of business May 30, and the Comanche County Commission was expected to open the bids on June 2. The commission typically delays action on bids for a week so commissioners will have time to review them.
A timeline for construction will be finalized after the bids are awarded. The construction management firm CDBL will oversee the project, and the commissioners will have final approval.
The new building will be located directly south of the existing health department on South Sheridan Road, on a 150acre strip of land known as the Marvin Bicket and Wes Silk School Farm. Bicket and Silk played key roles in establishing the vocational agriculture school farm in Lawton, according to Bicket’s 2005 obituary in The Oklahoman.
The health department is leasing the land for the new building from Lawton Public Schools, under an agreement that was approved in November 2023.
The project will cost about $2.2 million, which will come out of the county’s portion of American Rescue Plan Act funds, health department officials said. Enhancing services The health department will continue providing direct care and clinical services at its current location, officials said. The new building will allow the agency to enhance its community- based programs, provide services that are typically available at either temporary locations or outdoor sites, and coordinate an emergency response to a public health crisis.
The facility will include the following amenities:
• A two-lane, covered drive-thru area for testing, vaccinations and medicine distribution.
• A small conference room and training space for planning, public health education and stakeholder engagement.
• Indoor storage to house public health mobile units.
• A large indoor space for community outreach programs, such as car seat safety checks and educational events.
• Covered parking to protect county- and state-owned vehicles from the weather.
The facility will help the health department respond quickly and efficiently to a public health crisis, officials said.
“Additionally, the new facility will allow us to offer services without imposing on our external partners such as the Comanche County Fairgrounds,” they said. “Finding an indoor space to offer a large-scale service in Lawton, such as drive-thru vaccinations, medication or testing service, is difficult.”
Officials said the new building will be the first standalone emergency operations center for public health in this part of the state.
“It’s a step forward for public health in Comanche County,” they said. “We greatly appreciate the support, vision and investment of the Comanche County Commissioners, Comanche County Excise Board, Comanche County Clerk’s Office, Comanche County Local Board of Health, Lawton Public Schools Administration and Board of Education and the families of Marvin Bicket and Wes Silk.”