Hospital does not cover county cut
By Steve Herring
Published in News on September 18, 2015 1:46 PM
The $252.6 million budget recently adopted by the Wayne Health Corp. did not include an increase in funding for WATCH (Wayne Action Teams for Community Health) to make up for lost county funding.
Instead, Wayne Memorial Hospital officials say they hope the $110,000 cut by commissioners will be offset through fundraising efforts, including an upcoming golf tournament and other contributions.
But while there was no funding increase, the hospital did not cut back on WATCH's programs either.
"We did look at WATCH and what it would take to maintain WATCH in there," hospital President Bill Paugh said. "We are still trying to get all of the donations we can from all the sources that we can because it is a very worthwhile program.
"But we decided to assume that we are going to get continued support from the county. We decided not to cut back on the programs and things that we are doing with WATCH. We are optimistic in that we think between now and the next time we go through a funding cycle we can continue to present the worth of WATCH to the community and be taken care of."
WATCH's mission is to provide quality primary and acute health care to the county's uninsured residents.
WATCH has free health care locations at the Goldsboro Family YMCA, 1105 Parkway Drive, which is open Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and a hospital campus clinic behind the emergency department, which is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
A mobile unit travels to 15 predetermined locations in Wayne County each month. It operates Monday through Wednesday and on Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Paugh said the hospital is working with charitable sources to try to make sure it can get people to step up and understand the value of WATCH to the community.
"We have (WATCH Executive Director) Sissy (Lee-Elmore) on the grant road as much as we can," hospital finance officer Becky Craig said.
The new budget provides $820,000 for WATCH - up by $65,000 from the $755,000 in last year's budget.
The $65,000 comes from a Duke Endowment grant to hire a health educator for the GoWayneGo program and other expenses including salary increases.
GoWayneGo is an initiative from the Healthy Wayne Task Force, a group of individuals representing WATCH, Wayne Memorial Hospital, the city, Wayne County Public Schools, North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, Goshen Medical Center, United Way, the Family Y and Goldsboro Pediatrics.
The 16th annual WATCH/Wayne Health Foundation Benefit Golf Tournament is scheduled for Oct. 1 at Walnut Creek Country Club.
The tee times are 8 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
To register, contact Karen Padgett at 919-587-4136. Registration must be complete by Friday, Sept. 18.
Nonprofit organizations like WATCH have been in the crosshairs of some commissioners in recent years. Some object to using tax dollars to fund nonprofits and argue that the public and private sector should step up and provide the funding.
In May, County Manager George Wood recommended in his budget proposal that the county not fund WATCH and use the $220,000 it had requested in county funding for Wayne County Public Schools.
In June, commissioners reversed course on defunding the agency and voted unanimously instead to cut its funding request in half to $110,000.
But the funding came with a warning: WATCH should not count on future county assistance and should seek other funding sources.