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 “I thought it would be a good opportunity to talk about some of
the things we’re doing at the Health Department,” said Cavi. Cavi
said he wanted to explain what some of the county money is used for
at the department.
According to Cavi, the Logan County Health Department is one of 97
county health departments in the state of Illinois. Cavi said the
Health Department offers services in not only the health clinic, but
in environmental health, sewage inspections, a dental clinic,
nutritional programs, and “a top-ranked home health clinic.” Cavi
also said they work with the hospital to treat high-risk children.
“We are the lead agency for thirteen counties for the Healthworks
program,” said Cavi.
According to Cavi, fifteen percent of the department funding comes
from the county. Cavi said that the department is anticipating cuts
at a state level, and they are still waiting on grants from 2014.
“The tax levy from Logan County goes to pay salaries, our private
stock of vaccines, building and maintenance equipment, dental
supplies, physical therapy services for home health, and our staff
that need to go through continuing education by state statute,” said
Cavi.
 Cavi said that since his appointment in October, the Health
Department has been spending more selectively to get more out of
their revenue. Cavi said as an example, the Health Department is
hiring more local people for building repair and maintenance, as
well as using labor skills already possessed by the employees
instead of hiring contractors.
Cavi also said they have delayed a few new hires over the past few
months in order to help save money as well. “I did not rehire an
Environmental Director until March, and I promoted someone within,”
said Cavi, who previously held the Environmental Director position.
“And we came in under budget as far as salaries go.”
Cavi said the department is looking into meeting the requirements
for a special federal qualification called a Federally Qualified
Health Center. Cavi said that a FQHC is a funded through federal
grants, so long as it serves a medically underserved area and houses
a primary care physician. “They get enhanced reimbursement rates for
the services they provide…there’s free malpractice liability
coverage, ongoing funding to offset costs of uncompensated services,
capital improvement grants, and loan repayment programs,” said Cavi.
Cass County operates under this qualification, and they have 80
employees on staff. “They’re doing quite well. They showed us what’s
involved in this,” he said.
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Cavi said the department should be able to house a primary physician, but there
is an issue with qualifying as a medically underserved area. Cavi said that
according to HIRSA, Logan County is “a primary care physician shortage area, we
are a mental health shortage area, and we’re a dental health shortage area,
however we are not classified as medically underserved.” Cavi said he is working
with HIRSA and the primary care office in Springfield to try and get Logan
County reclassified as medically underserved.
Finally, Cavi said he is talking with SIU to potentially bring dental school
resident students to help in the dental clinic. Cavi said they could use the
residents to help speed along the dental clinic, as there is currently a waiting
list stretching into November.
“We realize there’s a lot of challenges, but we’re excited about the future and
what we’re trying to do,” said Cavi.
“We’re always looking for opportunities to increase employment in the county.
And it looks like you could do that,” said Chuck Ruben.
Ruben also had an unrelated question for Cavi. Ruben said he had received a call
from a resident about a concern over abandoned cars, and the resident had been
told to contact the Health Department. Cavi said he believed the Sheriff
Department is supposed to look into abandoned cars, unless there is an issue
with a junkyard of sorts, or vermin could become a problem.
“But we’ll be happy to follow up on that if we need to,” said Cavi.
Committee members present for the meeting were Chuck Ruben, Gene Rohlfs, David
Blankenship, Emily Davenport, Robert Farmer, Andy Anderson, and Rick Aylesworth.
[Derek Hurley]
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