Courtesy Photo Denise Bryan, administrative health officer of the District Health Department No. 4, and Josh Meyerson, medical director of the Health Department, cut a ribbon on Wednesday for the grand opening of the new department office in Atlanta.

ATLANTA — District Health Department No. 4 held a grand opening for its new office in Atlanta.

The public was invited to come in, get a tour of the space, have refreshments, and learn more about the department’s programs.

The Health Department only meant for the new space to be a temporary arrangement after the department’s original building’s roof collapsed on July 22, making the office hazardous for employees to work in.

Ace Hardware and a Michigan Secretary of State office inhabited the building and were evacuated over safety concerns as well.

Now, the Health Department hopes to make the building on State Street its new home in Montmorency County.

“Because of the infrastructure for it, getting the cable routed through here and getting fiber internet in here, it really is a three to five year plan once you do it,” Denise Bryan, administrative health officer of the Health Department, said. “We were decades in our old space, so my goal is that this is our home for decades to come.”

The office’s services, including home visiting nurses, a specialty in the Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC program), and a sanitarian, will begin working in the office in January. The sanitarian will be able to check well and septic permits and inspect restaurants.

Bryan also said that the public health nurse working in Hillman schools will have an office in the Atlanta location.

“Today is a celebration day,” Bryan said. “In our small counties like Montmorency, every stakeholder in the community is part of the community, and public health loves to serve the families here. Staff has been very excited to really open officially today.”

When the Health Department is closed during the holidays, leaders hope to quickly renovate the new facility’s lobby to create more privacy between patients and employees setting up appointments.

Because of the waiting lobby’s open structure, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-protected phone calls are left open for people to potentially hear. Renovations will include a diagonal wall with a screen door for employees to close when making phone calls. The Health Department will pay $8,500 for the material and permits while the building landlord will pay $3,500 for labor costs.

Bruno Wojcik, the owner of the leased-out Health Department building, said that he’s happy to lease the space to the department and that he’s seen the excitement of the move in Health Department officials.