Clinic cuts are considered

Wahkiakum County officials this week continued efforts to find solutions to the financial crisis of the Wahkiakum Family Practice Clinic.

When county officials decided 2.5 years ago to buy the clinic from PeaceHealth Medical Center, they knew it would probably run at a loss, but the loss has been more than double what they expected. The clinic entered 2007 with an unpaid loan of $185,000 from the county treasurer, and it is now facing a projected $250,000 shortfall for 2007.

On Tuesday, county officials, clinic Business Manager Kathy Patterson and Wahkiakum Community Foundation Executive Director Karen Bertroch met to search budgets for possible revenues and places to cut.

After discussing potential cuts, officials said they wanted to meet with clinic doctors to discuss what the cuts might mean.

If officials are going to propose that taxpayers approve a special levy to cover clinic costs, county officials must already have made all cuts possible, said commission Chair George Trott.

“So I think we’re going to have to trim this down so that it’s very lean before we go to the taxpayers,” he said.

Treasurer Paula Holloway said she has learned that the clinic, a county agency, doesn’t have to pay interest on loans from the county treasury, so that could save $20,000.

The group discussed personnel cuts, and Patterson commented that these cuts will reduce what services can be provided to patients and also increase the workload and stress on remaining staff.

The group discussed billing emergency medical services when a registered nurse goes on an ambulance call or when staff monitor ambulance calls to direct medical services. County taxpayers have approved six-year special levies to fund emergency services; the tax revenue has been used to furnish equipment and training to the different fire departments in the county. However, officials said the ordinance establishing the Emergency Services Fund also allows payment for medical services, so they said they would broach the subject the EMS Board.

Commissioner Tom Doumit said he had taken the issue last week to District 19 legislators and to the governor’s office last week and received some support.

Rep. Dean Takko was seeking funding to cover two years of estimated deficits of $250,000 to allow the county to find a funding solution.

Doumit reported legislators and governor’s office staff said it might be hard to justify funding when the county has $4.9 million in reserves.

However, he and the officials said, people have to understand that those reserves are specifically dedicated or limited.

The biggest reserve is the Cumulative Reserve for Contingent Liabilities. Treasurer Holloway said the $1.8 million in that reserve is needed to cover monthly expenses, such as the county payroll, and for possible payouts of vacation time, should an employee retire.

Other dedicated reserves are Public Works, $937,705 for the Road Department; Emergency Medical Services, $197,000; and Criminal Justice, $703,928 set for law enforcement, courts and related services.

Remaining are cumulative reserves for Emergency Expenditures, $96,536; County Properties, $918,788, set for building maintenance, property acquisition, and capital projects; Interlocal Cooperation, $54,087, and Electronic Communications, $199,321 for maintaining the computer networks and electronic machines.

The group agreed to discuss possible cuts with clinicians sometime this week and to continue discussions at another finance committee meeting next Tuesday, 8:30 a.m.