Refresh plans underway at Tavistock Community Health Inc. building

Pictured recently at the medical clinic in Tavistock are Tavistock Community Health Inc. directors Frank Meconi, Russ Huber, Carolyn Kropf and Dennis Kuepfer. Gary West photo

By Gary West

The Tavistock Community Health Inc. (TCHI) board of directors report it has officially begun refresh plan at the medical building.

Board chair Frank Meconi said with the last power interruption of three to four hours in October, they discovered the clinic generator didn’t function. They are thankful that the fridge with $30,000 worth of vaccines and other medicines stayed cold enough, and the contents were not compromised.

They have since had a new generator installed.

When the building was inspected for the refresh, asbestos was found. The chairman reported asbestos abatement is not cheap, but it is need so the refresh plans can continue.

Also, the rooftop HVAC unit was inspected very recently. It is 30 years old and with the best-before date eight years ago – they normally last about 22 years – the board knows they are now on borrowed time.

By ordering a new unit, it could take 12-16 weeks for delivery and they are presently getting quotes. They have also been looking at the roof that has maybe two to three years remaining before it needs to be replace.

The board knows it will need money and, when everything is added up, the total is approximately $500,000.

The front reception area is phase one of the refresh, and board chair Meconi would like residents of Tavistock and area, including Shakespeare, Hickson, Embro and all points in between, to know it will need financial support and donations.

He says donation forms will be mailed out to all available mailboxes in the near future. He hopes every resident and business in the area will take their request seriously.

For more information, contact Meconi at fameconi@rogers.com.