STROMSBURG — The Polk County Health Department will soon have a new home.
Polk County is in the process of purchasing the old Yungdahl’s Apothecary building in Stromsburg, which is located on the Square at 313 Commercial St. The county is set to close on the building April 1. The sale price is $165,000.
Polk County Commissioner Jerry Westring said the discussion has been going on for a number of years about finding a new location for the health department. He said they considered building an office close to the hospital, but it would cost more than $1 million.
“We’re renting right now,” he said. “They just don’t have enough room.”
Once the health department moves to Stromsburg the department will be able to offer CPR classes and other type of clinics in the new space.
“We are very excited about this and feel this building will be much better suited for our needs in serving our Polk County residents,” Polk County Health Department Director Darla Winslow said. “It is a beautiful building and we hope to preserve as much of the existing space as possible.”
Another issue the new location solves deals with privacy. Currently the department has a lot of open space. They are going to be able to set up offices to give staff more privacy.
The department currently has two full-time employees and six part-time employees.
They do not have a set timetable to open the new location.
