Minutes 03-04-2010 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Commissioner Yuhasz said that he has a foot in each board and he started with the dental clinic. He said that the Board of County Commissioners does not want to lose services that they have now and the Board of Health wants to put the resources to the best possible use and these two are in conflict. He said that there are both efficiencies and health concerns involved and there are political concerns involved and those two do not always lead to the same conclusion. Dr. Paul Chelminski said that, in a period of strained resources, the idea of focusing energies at one center is more efficient. The most efficient center might be Hillsborough. Anissa Vines said that the Board of Health gets complaints from the dental clinic in Carr Mill Mall about not being able to get appointments or call backs. She said that they have talked about the limitations of the dental clinic for the past 2-3 years. She said that there is not the space or the resources to provide the services that are needed. Commissioner Gordon said that if there is only one center in Hillsborough then people will have to travel to get to the clinic in Chapel Hill. Chapel Hill and Carrboro have fare free buses and there is a 420 bus service between Chapel Hill and Hillsborough. She said that the geographical center is in Hillsborough but the population center is in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. There is a part of the CIP to build a dental clinic at the Southern Human Services Center. She said that it is a complex issue to have only one center since travel is the main concern. She said that most people coming into Hillsborough will most likely be driving. She thinks that these things have to be considered and transportation is the key issue. Commissioner Hemminger asked about the expansion of moving into the other part of the Whitted Building and if this would enable them to increase services in Hillsborough and Rosemary Summers said that the combination of the resources and the two clinics is what would enable them to see more patients. It would be more efficient to have one site and they could see more patients at the one site than they can at the two separate sites currently. Commissioner Hemminger asked Rosemary Summers to walk through how someone living in Carrboro could get an appointment at the Hillsborough dental clinic. Rosemary Summers said that they schedule the appointments in one-hour slots and they pretty much keep to that pace. She said that the fact is that there are many more resources in the southern part of the County for people to access than there are in the northern part of the County. This is one of the factors taken into consideration in making the proposal to locate the service in the northern part of the County. Dr. Paul Chelminski said that unless there is a commitment to fund the ability to have two sites and to get better quality equipment, then there cannot be two sites. He said that something has to change because the dental school is not carrying its weight and Piedmont Health cannot cover everyone else. He is very concerned about access to care. Commissioner Jacobs said that the Board of County Commissioners discussed this at a work session and there was a suggestion of surveying the users and seeing where they come from and getting a better demographic picture. He said that this bleeds into the discussion of whether or not to plan to build a dental clinic at the Southern Human Services Center. This has been in the CIP. He asked if the Board of Health has discussed this. Annisa Vines said that the Board of Health has talked about the extra footprint that is at Southern, but the issue is complex (funding, why should it be at this location, etc.). She said that staff is running ragged and it is a strain and not satisfying to patients. Frank Clifton said that it has been pointed out that jurisdictions with a considerable population and a considerable land area find it more effective to concentrate resources at some location and make the best of it. He said that if you are going to have a double service, then you need to buy duplicate equipment and the County cannot afford that now. He said that the County should not provide second rate service with second rate equipment. At this time, there are two facilities, but only one is open at a time.