Washington County committee votes to keep on-site employee clinic, approve $250,000 remodel

Todd Scott, a county staff member, briefed the Washington County Executive Committee on options for the county—on-site employee clinic and recommended keeping the clinic at the county facility while pursuing higher employee use and potential partners.

The clinic matters because the county currently shares a clinic with the City of West Bend; West Bend has notified the county it will withdraw, leaving the county to bear a larger share of costs if the clinic remains on-site. Committee members debated the size of the investment and whether the county should move the clinic off-site, reduce hours or keep it in the building and remodel.

Scott told the committee the clinic———costs roughly $274,000 annually and the county pays about $163,000 of that (about 60 percent). He said clinic users in the county—health plan represent about 42.5 percent of full utilization and that a recent employee survey drew 188 responses; the results showed 63 percent preferred keeping a 40-hour clinic, about 23 percent supported reduced hours, 10 percent favored an off-site option and 4 percent recommended closing the clinic. Scott said the estimated cost to relocate and build a clinic at county facilities would be roughly $250,000.

Committee members discussed alternatives including reducing clinic hours (for example to 30 hours), finding outside partners willing to share costs, and using incentives or outreach to raise employee utilization. Scott said the health insurance fund—balance would be used to bridge the increased county share until utilization improves. He also told the committee that the clinic space, if ultimately converted to office use, would not require large additional costs to repurpose because plumbing and exam-room fixtures are relatively straightforward to cap off or remove.

Supervisor Kelling moved and Supervisor Schwab seconded a motion to maintain the on-site clinic at the county facility and continue at 40 hours while implementing the recommended remodel and utilization efforts. The motion passed on a voice vote (all present voting "aye").

Committee members asked staff to return with utilization tracking, contract terms that would allow adjustments to hours, and milestones for reporting back to the committee (several supervisors mentioned a roughly 12- to 18-month review as a possible checkpoint). STAFF also indicated ongoing conversations with the City of West Bend about the timing of that city's withdrawal; Scott said West Bend had given notice that makes January 1 the effective date in practical terms.

The committee's decision directs staff to proceed with planning for the remodel and to use the health insurance fund to bridge costs while pursuing higher utilization, partner options and regular reporting back to the committee.

Ending: The committee approved the plan to keep the on-site clinic at 40 hours and to proceed with the remodel and associated planning steps; staff will return with contract details, utilization goals and milestone reports.