KELLOGG — Since 1996, the Kellogg branch of the Panhandle Health District has served the Silver Valley from its location at 114 Riverside Ave.

From providing womens health and WIC supplemental nutrition services to hosting the Bunker Hill Superfund Institutional Controls Program, PHD has been contributing to our area in several meaningful ways.

In an effort to serve the community even better, PHD recently announced that they will be operating from their new location at 35 Wildcat Way in Kellogg on Dec. 4.

Melanie Collett, PHD’s Public Information Officer, told the News-Press that the new location will not only “provide a more efficient space for our staff,” but is “hugely attractive to PHD because of it’s coadjacent location with the Department of Health and Welfare.”

The two entities consistently refer clients to each other and partner in many ways. With them being in the same building, Collett says that this will be much more convenient for the public. The move across town will also give the office a more central location.

Collett hopes that this more central location “will provide greater access to our services.”

The space they are moving into has a large conference room that could allow PHD to potentially host community forums, events and PHD Board of Health meetings. Better parking options for both patrons and employees is just the cherry on top.

For those who think change can lead to negatives, Collett stressed that all of PHD’s services will remain the same. Even the office’s phone number, 208-786-7474, will stay the same.

PHD’s work with the ICP has arguably been one of their crowning achievements in Shoshone County. By maintaining clean soil and educating the public on lead exposure, PHD has played a large role in the decline of blood/lead levels in local children since the closure of the smelting plant in the 1980s.

For more information on PHD, visit panhandlehealthdistrict.org.