WATCH wants meeting
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on April 23, 2015 1:46 PM
The WATCH medical director enlisted the support of the program's board of directors Wednesday to seek a meeting with County Manager George Wood to discuss next year's funding.
Non-profits like WATCH, or Wayne Action Teams for Community Health, have recently come under fire as the county commission has sought to reduce funding in those areas.
But Dr. Clark Gaither, medical director of the WATCH program since its inception 15 years ago, said his concern goes beyond renewing the $200,000 in county money that it received last year.
He would like to at least have the chance to "plead his case."
"This year they decided to review all non-profit organizations, which is fine," he told the board. "However, we did request a meeting with the county manager and so far we have not been able to get a meeting, although the county manager has met with all the other non-profits that have asked for funds."
Gaither said he contacted the county manager's office last week and secured an appointment for Friday afternoon.
Before hanging up, he said he mentioned that Sissy Lee-Elmore, executive director of WATCH, would accompany him.
Mrs. Lee-Elmore said she told Gaither to expect a call canceling the meeting.
That happened soon afterward.
"They called back and said the girl that made the appointment was not the right person to make the appointment," Gaither said.
"They said they were not prepared to discuss it with us at this time," Mrs. Lee-Elmore added.
She questioned the chain of events, saying that in previous years the county commission had invited each non-profit to make a presentation in anticipation of the pending budget.
"For the past 12 years I have gone and made a presentation," she said. "This year I didn't get a call, and I did make a request for funding.
"I was told they had spoken to WATCH. They didn't speak to me, they didn't speak to Dr. Gaither."
Mrs. Lee-Elmore said the county expanded its application this year, producing a copy of the thick document she had prepared and submitted. The application was due March 30, she said, and she had hand-delivered it to his office March 26.
"I did all this work and nobody wants to talk to us," she said. "I was surprised that they canceled.
"Myself, I would have sat there and listened to you. He would have done due diligence and heard us. That's all we were asking for. Then we would have been quiet and happy because we were heard and gone away."
Gaither said he realizes that $200,000 is a "sizable chunk" of money, but has been disturbed by the county's tone toward non-profits like WATCH, even penning a guest column, which ran in the News-Argus last month.
In it, he took to task the suggestion that the hospital pick up the slack for funding "because of all the money WATCH is saving the hospital by preventing visits to the emergency department."
He told the board the WATCH program has a different role than the hospital or its emergency department.
"What we provide, we give those folks a medical home," he said. "That's not what they provide in the emergency department. That's for acute problems."
He questioned the notion that the hospital provides indigent care.
"The problem is, what's indigent?" he asked. "Some of our patients have jobs, some two and three jobs, and they don't have insurance. I don't consider at least half of the patients as indigent.
"I think the county gets this money back in goods and services that the people purchase. We keep people employed because we keep them healthy. I think those dollars find their way back into the coffers of the county and the city."
Board member Jack Best, a former commissioner, said commissioners had also expressed concern about the "abuse" of the program by some citizens who had insurance.
Mrs. Lee-Elmore responded that that had been minimal -- citing "probably four people" who signed up for the Blue Cross program that held a $6,000 deductible and no primary acute health care and explained that WATCH patients have been terminated if found to have insurance.
"There's a perception in the community," Best said. "We need to stop that."
The county manager is expected to make his recommendations to the commission on May 19.
"Before that happens, I would like to see the county manager and county commissioners sit down and talk with you," said board member Jimmie Ford, pointing out that Wood moved to the county less than a year ago to take the job. "How can you make a decision about something you don't know about? He may not be as familiar with the WATCH program and its patients."
Gaither handed out talking points to the board members and asked them to make calls to Wood's office.
The board also decided to draft a letter to the county manager expressing concern about the issue and requesting a meeting.