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With the Indiana legislature greater than $100 million in new funding for well being departments this session, native well being leaders are starting to contemplate what they may do with the additional cash.
That anticipation although can also be being tempered with a way of historical past and skepticism about what the ultimate package deal would possibly appear to be.
“I’ve not thought lots about it but. I’m ready to see if it strikes by means of the legislature earlier than we get too overwhelmed with the small print. They’re fairly assured that we’ll get at the very least some form of enhance in funding,” mentioned Martin County Public Well being Nurse Julia Albright. “What they suggest originally of the session and what they find yourself offering on the finish just isn’t at all times the identical. After they get to arguing in Indianapolis you by no means know what is going to occur.”
Whereas officers are hesitant to get in too massive of a rush in spending new cash, there are some plans being made.
“We’re already conscious of the funds that may doubtlessly be offered for Daviess County that may present the core providers within the laws for native well being departments to obtain the funding,” mentioned Daviess County Well being Division Administrator Kellie Streeter. “We’re planning, not that we’re banking that they’ll go the invoice for public well being, however due to our budgeting course of and the best way the state funding goes, we actually have to have a plan and finances for these core providers.”
The potential further funding for Daviess County can be round $1.5 million, which isn’t fairly double the division’s finances. As a result of Martin County has a a lot smaller inhabitants, the rise is anticipated to be round $300,000.
“There are a number of providers that we plan to broaden and can take extra funding. I would like to have the ability to present why we want this cash and the way we’re going to use it,” mentioned Streeter. “We’re consistently reviewing information and attempting to determine what is required locally. We are attempting to get forward of the sport. Outreach can be one of many first issues.”
“Now, we’re contemplating growing the hours of our immunization clinic. We do at some point every week and we need to enhance that. We additionally might enhance blood testing,” mentioned Albright. “We’re one of many smallest well being departments within the state, so we don’t do a variety of the issues different counties do each day simply because we don’t have the workers for that. I believe we would add workers to tackle some further duties.”
Daviess County officers are additionally wanting to make use of the brand new cash to assist leverage some further partnerships in offering well being care within the county.
“We’re additionally, by means of one other funding supply, shopping for a cell vaccination clinic in order that we will do extra vaccinations at colleges and at native trade,” mentioned Streeter. “We’re on the lookout for further partnerships with the hospital. There are a variety of different issues we want to develop with companions right here locally. It’s greater than photographs. It seems we can be doing extra with wells and our septic division will probably be increasing.”
The extra well being division funding is the results of a year-long research ordered by Governor Eric Holcomb. One of many outcomes of that research is that the locals can be directing how the cash is spent quite than attempting to shoehorn into one-size-fits-all initiatives. For departments in Daviess and Martin counties that may permit officers to take care of among the distinctive elements of their communities.
“We need to attain out to our immigrant neighborhood. We’ve not achieved the best job of attending to them in order that they don’t wind up within the ER and the youngsters can get their vaccinations and go to high school,” mentioned Streeter. “We’ve the immigrant inhabitants and the Amish inhabitants. Our housing tends to be previous and which means there’s extra lead paint nonetheless in houses. Kids by the age of 1 needs to be lead examined and plenty of aren’t. Lead poisoning could cause a complete lot of issues together with autism and different points down the street if you don’t deal with them for lead.”
“We’re the one vaccine supplier within the county. None of our physician workplaces present vaccines. In a variety of counties pediatricians give vaccinations. Right here, we solely have household care practices. So we offer the vast majority of the vaccines for our youngsters,” mentioned Albright.
Whereas native officers don’t wish to get too far forward when contemplating the potential new cash, there are some causes to try to plan for it.
“The one unhealthy factor about the best way that is going to occur is that we often do our county budgets in June and July and the laws might not be achieved till late April. That doesn’t give us a variety of time for flip round and adjusting these budgets,” mentioned Albright. “We’re excited on the prospect of more cash. It’ll give us the prospect to do extra training and issues like that.”
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