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Commissioner Yuhasz said that he has a foot in each board and he started with the <br />dental clinic He said that the Board of County Commissioners does not want to lose services <br />that they have now and the Board of Health wants to put the resources to the best possible use <br />and these two are in conflict He said that there are both efficiencies and health concerns <br />involved and there are political concerns involved and those two do not always lead to the same <br />conclusion <br />Dr Paul Chelminski said that in a period of strained resources the idea of focusing <br />energies at one center is more efficient The most efficient center might be Hillsborough <br />Anissa Vines said that the Board of Health gets complaints from the dental clinic in Carr <br />Mill Mall about not being able to get appointments or call backs She said that they have talked <br />about the limitations of the dental clinic for the past 23years She said that there is not the <br />space or the resources to provide the services that are needed <br />Commissioner Gordon said that if there is only one center in Hillsborough then people <br />will have to travel to get to the clinic in Chapel Hill Chapel Hill and Carrboro have fare free <br />buses and there is a 420 bus service between Chapel Hill and Hillsborough She said that the <br />geographical center is in Hillsborough but the population center is in Chapel Hill and Carrboro <br />There is a part of the CIP to build a dental clinic at the Southern Human Services Center She <br />said that it is a complex issue to have only one center since travel is the main concern She <br />said that most people coming into Hillsborough will most likely be driving She thinks that these <br />things have to be considered and transportation is the key issue <br />Commissioner Hemminger asked about the expansion of moving into the other part of <br />the Whitted Building and if this would enable them to increase services in Hillsborough and <br />Rosemary Summers said that the combination of the resources and the two clinics is what <br />would enable them to see more patients It would be more efficient to have one site and they <br />could see more patients at the one site than they can at the two separate sites currently <br />Commissioner Hemminger asked Rosemary Summers to walk through how someone <br />living in Carrboro could get an appointment at the Hillsborough dental clinic Rosemary <br />Summers said that they schedule the appointments in onehour slots and they pretty much keep <br />to that pace She said that the fact is that there are many more resources in the southern part <br />of the County for people to access than there are in the northern part of the County This is one <br />of the factors taken into consideration in making the proposal to locate the service in the <br />northern part of the County <br />Dr Paul Chelminski said that unless there is a commitment to fund the ability to have <br />two sites and to get better quality equipment then there cannot be two sites He said that <br />something has to change because the dental school is not carrying its weight and Piedmont <br />Health cannot cover everyone else He is very concerned about access to care <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that the Board of County Commissioners discussed this at a <br />work session and there was a suggestion of surveying the users and seeing where they come <br />from and getting a better demographic picture He said that this bleeds into the discussion of <br />whether or not to plan to build a dental clinic at the Southern Human Services Center This has <br />been in the CIP He asked if the Board of Health has discussed this <br />Annisa Vines said that the Board of Health has talked about the extra footprint that is at <br />Southern but the issue is complex funding why should it be at this location etc She said <br />that staff is running ragged and it is a strain and not satisfying to patients <br />Frank Clifton said that it has been pointed out that jurisdictions with a considerable <br />population and a considerable land area find it more effective to concentrate resources at some <br />location and make the best of it He said that if you are going to have a double service then <br />you need to buy duplicate equipment and the County cannot afford that now He said that the <br />County should not provide second rate service with second rate equipment At this time there <br />are two facilities but only one is open at a time