Gone are the days of running health services out of churches and transporting various clinic equipment back and forth between Mexico and Vandalia.
The Audrain County Health Department celebrated …
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Gone are the days of running health services out of churches and transporting various clinic equipment back and forth between Mexico and Vandalia.
The Audrain County Health Department celebrated the opening of its new satellite location in Vandalia with a ribbon cutting and open house Sept. 30. The new clinic is located at 204 W. Washington Street in Vandalia.
Katie Swaim, ACHD director of operations, said the establishment of a permanent location will allow the health department to better expand its services to the eastern region of Audrian County, “Not everyone can make it to this side of the county, so we wanted to be able to reach them there,” Swaim said.
Currently, this location will host WIC services on the second Thursday of each month and the foot clinic on the first and third Thursday. It will also host its first flu clinic, offering flu shots by appointment only, on Thursday. Flu clinic appointments can be made today by calling 573-581-1332.
For Swaim, this is just the beginning of ACHD’s opportunities in Vandalia.
“We’re hoping in the future to be able to bring more clinics there such as vital records or our birth and death certificates,” she said. “We may do other clinics such as vaccination clinics as well as, possibly, lab-draw clinics and different things like that.”
Swaim added that Greta Hopke, a registered dietitian at ACHD, will also be utilizing the space to do dietary consults for anyone in the Vandalia area.
Most recently, the health department’s satellite services were held in the Wang building. Before that, WIC services and foot clinics were offered in a local church, which Swain said was a struggle because all the equipment had to be transported from Mexico to Vandalia for each clinic.
“Now with this permanent space, we are able to leave our belongings there and leave it set up how we need it.”
The building is being leased from the Audrain County Board of Commission and the City of Mexico, who purchased the location in 2025 through the sale of the Audrain Medical Center hospital building.
“It’s very exciting to be able to utilize this building and have a permanent location there,” Swaim said.
