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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: August 22, 2006 <br />Action Agenda . <br />Item No. ~_ <br />SUBJECT: Continuation Grant Acceptance for Primary Care Services at Health <br />Department <br />DEPARTMENT: Health PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />ATTACHMENT (S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Continuation Grant Application Rosemary Summers, 245-2411 <br />PURPOSE: To accept the State continuation grant funds for primary care services at the Health <br />Department for the period July 1, 2006 through .June 30, 2007, <br />BACKGROUND: In 2005, the Health Department began offering primary care services far its <br />patients. In the first full year of providing primary care, the Department had approximately 441 <br />visits from 233 patients. Currently, the Department averages 43 unduplicated primary care <br />clients per month with about half of those patients being uninsured, self-pay patients. <br />Over the past two years, the State has provided grant funds to defray some operating costs, <br />Grant monies in 2005 provided funds to purchase pharmaceuticals, supplies and equipment <br />and employ temporary staff to supplement permanent clinical staff. In 2006, the Department <br />was awarded $43,346 in continuation funds, Since continuation of grant funding is not definite <br />from year to year, the Department used the grant monies to expand the available hours of <br />primary care by adding an additional clinician team through the use of temporary personnel , <br />Mare specifically, funds were used to hire apart-time family nurse practitioner, a registered <br />nurse, a nursing assistant and laboratory technicians on a temporary basis, Hours for the clinic <br />were increased by fourteen hours per week starting in late ,January 2006. While the grant funds <br />ended on May 30, the Department used available temporary monies to continue employment of <br />the additional team to ensure that there was no lapse in services for patients, <br />The continuation grant for 2006-07 is at the same level as the previous year ($43,346). The <br />budget projection (attached) indicates that the Department will continue to utilize the funds to <br />support a family nurse practitioner and a laboratory technician for 16 hours per week, and a <br />public health nurse I for 20 hours per week. In addition, the Department plans to use a small <br />amount of funding to purchase pharmaceuticals, <br />