Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Health Staffing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Clay County to combine clinic nurse with family home‑visiting role and cut main clinic days to two
Summary
Public health staff asked to reclassify a clinic nurse role to include family home visiting and to reduce primary clinic nursing days to Tuesdays and Thursdays; the board approved filling the position and reducing public clinic nursing days effective March 2, 2026, while keeping WIC services five days per week.
Clay County public health staff told the Board of Commissioners they plan to refill a clinic nurse position that will be restructured to include family home visiting duties, school nursing and disease prevention responsibilities so the county can eliminate routine backup rotations and better align staffing with service needs.
"Our intent with this request is to refill the position, but we do want to make a slight modification to the position," a public health presenter said, noting the change would reduce the need for backup coverage and allow more nursing time to be dedicated to home‑visiting work.
Staff also proposed reducing the number of days the clinic is open for public nursing appointments from five days per week to two (Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.) because utilization has not returned to pre‑pandemic levels. The presenter said WIC services would continue Monday through Friday and that nurses would remain available 40 hours per week to accommodate urgent needs. "We would continuously monitor if utilization starts to increase," the presenter said.
Commissioners pressed presenters on appointment logistics and accommodation for occasional urgent requests, such as drug UAs; clinic staff said they would schedule those as needed and coordinate with social‑services staff when necessary. The board voted to approve the position refill with backfill and to reduce clinic nursing days, with the reduced schedule effective 2026‑03‑02.
The board recorded no named opposing votes during the voice votes and directed staff to monitor utilization and return to the board if service needs change.
