After about a year of renovations, the McHenry County Department of Health has reopened its Crystal Lake facility.

Officials cut the ribbon on the building at 100 N. Virginia St. on Friday.

Among the larger changes to the facility is a space for an indoor drive-thru garage vaccine clinic. The health department offers immunization services to humans and animals. There also is a lane outside parallel to the garage.

That drive-thru clinic is “great for flexibility,” similar to the mobile clinic the health department rolled out in 2024, health department spokesperson Nick Kubiak said. Both the Crystal Lake building renovations and the mobile clinic were funded by federal COVID-19 relief dollars.

The County Board in 2024 voted to allocate about $2.5 million in federal COVID-19 relief dollars for the health department renovations.

Public Health Administrator Melissa Adamson said ARPA money was also meant to help communities improve their public health infrastructure in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Department officials said the garage also offers an enclosed space for animal control officers to bring in animals for intake, because the intake area connects to the garage. The garage also might be used to store the mobile clinic in winter weather or during severe thunderstorms.

Other changes to the space include a new door to the side of one of the cat rooms. The room has a door facing the front desk of the animal control office. Employee Nicole De Nicolo said that could allow small children to get into the room, which can be a safety issue. Members of the public can interact with animals up for adoption after applying and setting up an appointment. Now, that door is locked and access to that room is from the side.

Information about adopting animals is available on the health department website.

More space for offices, including IBCCP, WIC and storage, is at the new facility. WIC staffing has expanded to a team of around six to seven people, and Kubiak said there has been an increased need for WIC services over the past couple of years.

More parking now is available, which Adamson said matters in serving the public.

COVID was the largest event hat took place in her tenure, said Adamson, who has been with the department since 2018.

Among the changes from the pandemic the department has seen include how people respond to public health. Adamson said there’s been an uptick in vaccine hesitancy and lower trust in government services.

She said the department tries to educate the public on what it does. That includes things such as letting people know about illnesses going around and their symptoms of it so people know to seek care. the department also tries to educate public about solid waste and recycling.

“It’s about protecting the health, safety and well-being” of the public, Adamson said.

The building offers increased capacity to respond in the case of another pandemic, Adamson said. If there is another pandemic, the health department can respond more efficiently.

While Adamson said the department would work with its community partners if another pandemic happens, the drive-thru clinic, for instance, would offer another site for mass vaccinations.

The reopening also lines up with the health department’s 60th anniversary.

“We play such a vital role in the community,” Adamson said, noting the department offers a variety of services that include responding to tuberculosis cases to making sure food is handled safely.