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Washington County committee votes to keep on-site employee clinic, approve 40-hour remodel plan
Summary
The county executive committee voted to keep the county’s on-site employee clinic, approve a 40-hour model and authorize using the health insurance fund to bridge short-term costs while leaders try to raise utilization.
Washington County’s executive committee voted to keep the county’s on-site employee clinic and proceed with a remodel to support a 40-hour-per-week schedule, the committee decided after a wide-ranging discussion of costs, utilization and alternatives.
Todd Scott, a county staff member who presented the analysis, told the committee the clinic’s total operating cost is about $274,000 annually and that “we pay about $163,000 of that,” a roughly 60% share. Scott said county employees account for about 42.5% of current utilization and that a recent employee survey showed 63% of respondents preferred keeping the clinic at 40 hours; 23% supported reduced hours, 10% preferred an off-site option and 4% favored closure.
The committee’s discussion focused on tradeoffs: an estimated remodeling cost to relocate the clinic within county facilities was cited at about $250,000, and county staff said the health insurance fund balance would be used to bridge the additional operating cost while efforts are made to increase employee utilization. Scott said the county had discussed alternative nearby providers but did not find a partner willing to start immediately.
Supervisors pressed staff on the timeframe and financial risks. “If you don’t see this being a 6 or 7 year investment, then I would push staff to go in a different direction,” Supervisor Schonlein said, urging a long-term view. Other supervisors said they were prepared to try the remodel and evaluate results over several years before pursuing a different option.
A motion to keep the clinic on-site at 40 hours, with remodeling to proceed and funding bridged from the health insurance fund, was made by Supervisor Kelling and seconded by Supervisor Schwab. The committee approved the motion by voice vote.
The committee directed staff to continue efforts to increase employee utilization and to report back as contract renewal and budget milestones arrive. If utilization does not improve, members said they expect the board to revisit the decision in future budget cycles.
