Travis County Commissioners Court
August 31, 2004
Item 16
Ms. Fleming is here so let's call up number 16, consider and take appropriate
action related to budget shortage with the federally qualified health center
program for f.y. '04.
>> sher I didn't fleming, acting executive manager for health
and human services. This item is before you today to allow me to discuss with
you a projected shortage in the approved budget for the federally qualified
health center. As you know, the city of Austin manages the primary health
care clinics for us in the rural areas, and we budget for those programs through
the health and human services budgeted. We have been notified by the city
of Austin that we expect to exceed the approved budget by $153,000, and they
have attributed that overage to increased demand for services or the increased
number of encounters at the various clinics to the tune of an additional 1,012
residents seeking services. As you well know, previously we've been before
to you talk about increased demand in our rural medical assistance program,
which is our insurance coverage for indigents. And so it would stand to reason
that we would expect increased encounters at the clinics based on that same
increased demand driver there.
>> this is kind of a part of a discussion that Gerald and
I had yesterday on a totally unrelated topic on e.m.s., And that is this:
is this our proportionate share of the vacancies and strategy of having to
fill in hours in all of the clinics or did somehow Travis County get the honor
and joy of having the more expensive temps and at the city clinics they got
the benefit of the lower priced, full-time employees?
>> I do know, Commissioner, that we have had quite a few
temp personnel working in the county clinics. I can't specifically speak to
how those staff are assigned to our clinics because those assignments come
through city offers.
>> we pay them to manage the clinics, and I’m beyond irritated
that the folks that wind up being put in our clinics are the temps, they were
being shuffled from clinic to clinic and it's like they are here, they are
not here, you know, there are no doctors because there are no patients, there
are no patients because there are no doctors. I am perplexed and would like
to get an answer to that question as to is this a similar situation at the
city clinics, that there were system-wide vacancies and this is why we have
to pay this. And I’m fine with that, but I am not fine with the idea that
the city got the benefit of the full-time, less expensive slots, and if there
were vacancies, they -- or absences or whatever, that the county got to shoulder
that problem and that fix, which was much more expensive.
>> anybody here from the city on this item today?
>> no.
>> okay. Why don't we try to get answers to those questions.
And before you contact the city at about noon tomorrow, what if we get you
the specific questions we would like for the questions to answer next Tuesday?
>> absolutely. And we will be sure to invite the appropriate
city personnel to be here.
>> because I guess the part 2 of that is did we also get
to see any of the benefits of salary savings. It's just that it -- okay, you
get my point.
>> yes, ma'am, I do.
>> we've got one question with two parts. Maybe there will
be other questions put to them also, but I do they we ought to get those answers.
>> I will be happy to do so.
>> thanks, sherri.
>> 15 will be back on next week. Hopefully.
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Last Modified: Thursday, October 27, 2005 11:04 AM