Clay County approves refill of clinic nurse post and reduces nurse‑staffed clinic days to two per week

Clay County commissioners approved two actions affecting public‑health operations: the county will refill a clinic nurse position with a revised scope and will reduce the nurse‑staffed clinic’s regular public hours to two days per week.

Public health staff told the board an experienced clinic nurse has submitted a retirement notice and the county proposes refilling the position while combining clinic nursing and family home visiting duties to reduce the need for backup coverage. "Our intent with this request is to refill the position, but we do want to make a slight modification to the position," staff said. The board voted to approve the refill with potential internal backfill.

On clinic hours, public‑health staff presented utilization data showing that patient volumes have not rebounded to pre‑pandemic levels and recommended scheduling nurse appointments primarily on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Staff said WIC services will continue five days a week and evening WIC hours remain on Tuesday. They also emphasized nurses would continue to be scheduled 40 hours per week and the department will accommodate urgent needs that fall outside the two regular clinic days.

Commissioner Ebinger moved to reduce clinic hours to two days per week effective March 2, 2026; the motion carried by voice vote. Commissioners asked about appointment flexibility and whether drug UAs or urgent tests could be accommodated; staff said they would make exceptions as needed.

Staff said the combined clinic/family home visiting assignment aims to better use levy dollars and provide backup coverage without pulling time from other adult‑health work. The board’s approvals were procedural and do not create new county policy beyond the staffing and scheduling decisions; commissioners asked staff to monitor utilization and return if demand increases.