Board eyeing WATCH funds
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on November 8, 2015 3:05 AM
A Board of Health member championed the cause for WATCH services Wednesday, raising the "what if" question of the impact on the Health Department and community if the commissioners decide not to fund the program next year.
At Wednesday's meeting, Joseph Hackett asked to add an item to the agenda, saying he wanted to talk about future services of the Health Department.
WATCH, or Wayne Action Teams for Community Health, provides health care for the uninsured residents of Wayne County, Hackett said, with an estimated 12,000-13,000 citizens benefiting.
As the commission prepared its budget for the coming year, there was speculation that WATCH's request for $220,000 would not make the cut.
In the final hours, the commission reversed its decision to defund WATCH, opting instead to cut the request in half and designate $110,000 for the program. But they also made no promises for the future and suggested WATCH seek other funding sources.
Hackett said he was concerned about the "domino effect" for those served by the program, many of whom count on the care while juggling jobs and managing chronic conditions.
The fallout, he said, could have an economic impact -- on the county, the Health Department, the hospital and its emergency department.
"I'm wondering if we should not be looking at this, if we need to take a position on this," he said.
Board member Tommy Gibson recalled a similar situation when he was a pharmacist managing the Medication Management Program through WAGES, or Wayne Action Group for Economic Solvency.
"We were able to provide free medication for many members of our community," he said of the program he began directing in 2003. "In three years we (provided) well over $3 million of free medication to citizens of Wayne County."
But in 2007, WAGES was notified that grant money had run out and at year's end the program stopped.
"We lost our funding but WATCH picked it up," he said. "It's a wonderful service and if we lose that, we're going to be in trouble."
Board member Ray Mayo, a commissioner, said the real issue had stemmed from concerns about non-profits in the county, particularly Literacy Connections and WATCH.
"When this thing was brought up there was some talk about defunding all the non-profits in one year," he said. "My recommendation was to the county manager, that if you send out a memo to your department heads, we would like to see you reduce your budget about 5 percent. Send that same memo out to the non-profits."
He maintained that he did not favor making a "blanket statement" to cut anyone off.
Board member Kim Larson asked if a memo was sent to everybody to cut their budgets.
"That was not done this past budget year," Mayo replied, saying there hadn't been time to accomplish that. Moving forward, though, he said such programs would be wise to seek funding from other sources -- fundraisers, donations, etc.
And when the next budget season rolls around, he said, he hopes a memo is sent out to non-profits at the same time the message goes to the department heads.
"It's never a demand," he said. "We would like to see you reduce your budget by whatever, 3 percent, 5 percent. I'm saying let's send that memo out to non-profits."
Hackett said he is concerned about the repercussions and even possible "indirect affects" on the Health Department.
"I want to make sure that we're moving forward in a proactive way," he said. "Is there any way to find out what possible impact it could have?"
Health Director Davin Madden, who is also on the WATCH board, said there is no duplication of services between the two programs, although WATCH and the Health Department work together.
"The monetary impact directly to the Health Department would be more indirect than direct because we don't provide the services that they provide and they don't provide the services we provide," he said.
Ms. Larson referenced a Nov. 16 meeting she, and Hackett, will be attending as part of a committee to develop an updated community health needs assessment. WATCH will also be part of that discussion, she said.
"I think that they have always been at the table," she said. "This year, it's a new time for everybody to plan ahead for the next four (years)."
Mayo pointed out that the problem -- stemming from when the hospital went non-profit and WATCH, which is part of the hospital, was providing "indigent care," something the commission took at face value.
"Some commissioners wanted to defund it all," he said. "I was an opponent."
Mayo said the commission wound up providing some funding for this budget year.
"God knows what's going to happen for the coming year," he said.