 "We just cannot continue to provide programs and services in areas
where we are receiving no funding," said Mark Hilliard,
administrator of the health department.The health department
relies heavily on state and federal grants -- the source of
approximately 43 percent of the health department's budget annually.
The amount of these grants for state fiscal year 2010 was
anticipated to be approximately $1.1 million. Of that amount, the
health department was initially advised by state funding departments
that $490,000 was in jeopardy of not being funded.
"Now with no state budget at all, all of the funding is in
jeopardy," said Hilliard.
In addition to that amount, the state of Illinois owes the health
department $361,000 in grant funds from fiscal 2009, which ended
June 30.
Steps that the health department has taken initially to address
this shortfall include:
-
Reduced part-time
employee hours.
-
Terminated a
general clerical position of an employee who was on probation.
-
Gave layoff notices to three employees:
one health educator, one public health nurse and one Illinois
Breast and Cervical Cancer Program clerk.
The layoffs will be effective Friday unless the state legislature
and the governor resolve the budget impasse, according to Hilliard.
The health department's budget shortfall is further complicated
in that it is now being required by the county to pay the employer's
portion of the retirement and Medicare payroll expenses, which total
$210,000.
"The health department was established in 1970, and to my
knowledge these expenses have been borne by the county general fund
in each of the 39 years the health department has been in
operation," Hilliard said.
Programs and services that are likely to be eliminated or reduced
as of this date include but are not limited to the following:
-
A reduction in
women screened for breast and cervical cancer.
-
Elimination of the
Heart Smart for Teens program, which addresses nutrition and
physical activity for teen girls.
-
Reduction in
vision and hearing screenings.
-
Reduction in the
Teen Parent Services program, which helps expectant teen parents
complete their education.
-
Cuts to the
diabetes program; exercise program eliminated.
-
Reduction in the number of days a
public health nurse can staff the HOPE Mobile unit.
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-
Appointments to be
required for some screenings that previously have been done on a
walk-in basis.
-
Reduction or
elimination of several public health off-site clinics.
-
Elimination of the
radon education and testing program.
-
Elimination of
most adult injections, including those required for foreign
travel.
-
Reduction or
elimination of childhood immunizations.
-
Reduced capacity
to address communicable disease outbreaks through mass
vaccination or pharmaceutical dispensing, including the novel
influenza A, H1N1 (of swine origin), which is currently
circulating in parts of the country and is expected to re-emerge
in the fall.
-
Reductions in
inspections and surveillance of food establishments, private
water wells and private sewage disposal systems
-
Reduction in the
surveillance of West Nile virus and mosquito breeding sites.
-
Decreased accessibility of staff for
housing and nuisance investigations; limited availability of
staff to respond to environmental emergencies, such as chemical
spills, floods or extensive power outages.
"Our commitment to the citizens of Logan County is to continue to
provide those services for which we are statutorily obligated under
state law and county ordinances, while seeking grant funding to
supplement our budget in the areas affected," Hilliard said.
He went on to say: "We've lost a lot of sleep; the health
department staff is like family. It is now up to the governor and
General Assembly to step up to the plate and do their part to assure
that the public's health is not compromised due to the lack of
funding for basic, essential public health services."
[Text from file received from
the
Logan County Department
of Public Health]
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