The new Peoria County Health & Human Services building opens to the public this week.
The multi-year project brings a number of local agencies under the same roof at the Peoria City/County Health Department’s previous location on Sheridan Road. The facility includes office space for the health department, the County Coroner’s office, the Regional Office of Education and some new additions, like a rentable community kitchen and community room.

“I would like to acknowledge the current and previous Peoria County Board members who saw this amazing opportunity that the federal American Rescue Plan Act afforded us to build this $22.3 million facility without the need to issue bonds or raise taxes,” said County Board Chair Jimmy Dillon at a ribbon cutting ceremony Tuesday.
The construction, originally budgeted around $14 million after a larger $28 million plan was consolidated, also dipped into some reserve funds from the county.
The leadership of the organization’s housed in the new facility say it’s worth every penny.
Public Health Administrator Monica Hendrickson appreciates the large reception atrium filled with sunlight, when many former health department offices were in the basement of the old building.

“Imagine working day in and day out in a space where you don’t see sunlight and maybe don’t engage with other departments,” she said. “That was really intentional when we built this, how to actually improve on that. I feel that improves morale overall.”
The building, which Hendrickson notes is just a 10,000 square foot increase from the previous building overall, was designed by the Peoria-based Farnsworth Group. Hendrickson praises the extra space for community focused features like the kitchen. She says it’s a tremendous help for nutrition programs tied to the Women, Infant and Children program offerings at the department.
“Also, one of the biggest things we heard from a lot of our food establishments is that I want to get into the business. I want to get a brick and mortar, but how do I do it legally and appropriately?” Hendrickson said. “They can actually train here and actually rent the space over time and really build up their business.”
Regional Office of Education regional superintendent Beth Crider says the building is a friendlier place for adult learners to take their GED exams than the county courthouse. It also makes it easier for the ROE to address student health needs.

“They can come here, they can get wellness checks, they can get immunizations, they can get support on education,” said Crider. “That’s just a great way to wrap around those families.”
Crider plans to retire at the end of the current school year, about four months away, and sees the new building and offices as an ideal platform for new leadership.
“It’s time to forge ahead with new ways of taking on some of the challenges of 2025 and beyond,” she said.
Attached to the back of the new campus is the County Coroner’s office. Coroner Jamie Harwood has been vocal about the conditions of the office's old location on Gift Avenue: cramped spaces and a leaky morgue.
One of the highlights of the new facility: a walk-in cooler that can hold up to 30 people. Previously, Harwood says the office operated out of a boxed cooler system that held nine.
“That’s a really big deal when we look back to 2020, when we had our high rate of deaths for COVID,” he said. “We had an offsite refrigerated trailer that we were putting people in and out of. Now, we don’t have to do that.”
The new coroner facilities also include a “law enforcement touchdown station,” where police can view an autopsy with two-way communication. There’s also a portable x-ray and additional room for a chaplain and social worker on staff.

“That victim advocate with our chaplain services is going to be able to meet those people in the immediacy of that need and then follow them for a year, and the premise is to have quarterly follow ups, but also to connect and provide resources,” said Harwood.
The new campus means a slew of role-specific upgrades for Harwood’s department, but he also appreciates the connectivity it offers. For example, the vital records kept by the health department are critical to the coroner’s work and now they’re just down the hall.
“It’s so incredibly convenient, because we work with death certificates all the time,” Harwood said.
Harwood says his office already has three forensic autopsies scheduled for Wednesday.
Dr. Sameer Vorha, the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, says an interdisciplinary approach to health services benefits communities all around the state.
“We’ve really seen, you know, throughout the last five years, the connection between public health and other aspects of society, and really often, to be that kind of space where people can come in knowing that they just don’t have the need for health services,” he said. “They have a need for all kinds of services in a building like this, that really brings it together.”
Health officials, city leaders and department staff cut the ribbon on the new facility Tuesday, but all of the offices will be fully operational and open for public use Wednesday, Jan. 22.