Sawyer County HHS outlines EHR roll‑out, staffing moves and rising placement costs; consortium drops Forest County

Sawyer County Health and Human Services officials on Tuesday reviewed a set of operational changes and program updates, including a grant‑funded switch to a new electronic health record, staffing shifts across divisions, continuing high costs for out‑of‑county psychiatric placements and a move by the regional income maintenance consortium to remove Forest County from the group.

The meeting included administrative and program reports rather than votes on new policies; the board did approve the minutes from its April 8 meeting by voice vote.

County staff said the department has purchased TimeClock Plus for uniform time tracking and has secured a grant to cover onboarding costs for a new electronic health record (EHR). "We obtained a grant to help cover those onboarding costs of getting the new [EHR] up and running," said Carrie, an HHS staff member who presented the administration report. Staff said the EHR rollout is targeted to begin in summer or fall, with an expectation that ongoing costs will be comparable to the current system once the transition is complete.

Staffing and internal processes

Department leaders outlined several staffing updates across the Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC), child protection and behavioral health programs. Rebecca Erickson began in mid‑May as an adult protective services worker; Hank Norris is retiring from the elder benefits specialist role in June and Shannon Ewart is transitioning into that position. Melinda Hoyos was reported to have started this month as a truancy diversion and attendance worker.

Officials said they are standardizing internal processes: implementing one timekeeping system, updating the organizational chart to reflect current division activities, and developing a centralized referral process intended to connect clients to the right resources faster.

Behavioral health, mobile crisis and placement costs

Caitlin, a behavioral health staff member, reported on mobile crisis and the Community Support Program (CSP). "For mobile crisis in April, we just got 5 phone calls. Each call, we did a mental health assessment with them," Caitlin said, adding that two assessments resulted in emergency detentions with placements at Winnebago, two resulted in voluntary inpatient care and one was deferred to other services. For CSP, staff reported 47 clients in April, 14 of whom were court‑ordered, and about 14 people in out‑of‑county placements.

Officials flagged high placement expenses as an area to monitor in the fiscal year. The department said it is exploring options to reduce costs and to find placements closer to Sawyer County so staff can monitor care more easily. As one step, staff plan to issue a request for proposals (RFP) to evaluate options for a community based residential facility (CBRF) or group home that could serve local needs and reduce long travel distances for clients.

Children, truancy and juvenile placements

Staff reported an increase in children with mental‑health needs and described barriers to securing higher levels of care. The county noted that some residential placements or inpatient assessments require court orders and are processed through juvenile justice channels under juvenile protection/placement procedures referenced in the meeting.

Because Wisconsin school districts automatically drop students after 10 consecutive unexcused absences, staff said the department has used a contracted provider, Sirona Recovery, to work with families and restore enrollment. Of the 10 students identified by the department for 10‑day drops earlier in the school year, staff reported having completed six intakes and arranged alternative educational placements or services — including Challenge Academy, Job Corps, and virtual school — for several students. The department emphasized plans to improve early referral (for example at five days of absence) to avoid reaching the 10‑day drop point.

Economic support consortium change

The Northern Income Maintenance Consortium — a multi‑county partnership that operates shared call centers for FoodShare, BadgerCare and other income maintenance services — voted to remove Forest County from the consortium effective 2026, officials said. According to the report, the consortium determined Forest County had not met contract obligations for roughly 18 months, including not maintaining required positions and not contributing expected maintenance‑of‑effort (MOE) resources. Staff said residents of Forest County will continue to receive services during a transition the state will assist with.

Public health, preparedness and disease reporting

Public health staff reported community preparedness outreach and an uptick in enteric and tick‑borne disease reports. "We went to the Winter Spring Fling on May 24, and 378 individuals came to our booth and received information," said a public health staff member. The department also said it is now receiving electronic medical record (EMR) notifications for erythema migrans (EM) rashes, which are used to identify presumptive Lyme disease cases; that automated reporting has increased the number of Lyme disease reports.

Fiscal monitoring and next steps

Fiscal staff said contracted services and placement costs — especially for juvenile and adult out‑of‑county psychiatric placements — will be monitored closely. The department plans further analysis of contracted placements, Winnebago costs and other high‑expense areas and will present deeper budget detail at upcoming meetings. Staff also said they will place a public comment period specific to the proposed HHS budget on the next agenda, per the state requirement the department referenced.

Meeting action

• Motion to approve minutes from April 8: made, seconded and carried by voice vote.

The board adjourned with no additional formal actions on proposed policies during the meeting.

Planning and follow‑up items noted in the meeting include finalizing EHR onboarding steps, issuing an RFP to evaluate local residential options for behavioral health placements, completing the centralized referral process, and scheduling the public comment period for the proposed HHS budget.

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