County seeks help to minimize costs at health center
As they predicted they would during preparation of the 2016 budget, Washington County commissioners are seeking letters of interest from a consultant or firm to perform a fiscal analysis of the 288-bed county-owned health center aimed at minimizing costs and maximizing reimbursement for services.
County taxpayers in 2015 subsidized the Washington County Health Center in Arden to the tune of $1.5 million after the expenditure had been projected to be one-third of that amount.
This year, losses at the health center are “going to be close to $2 million, and we need to stop that somehow,” said Commission Chairman Larry Maggi on Wednesday. “It’s going to continue to grow every year. We’re using money from the general fund.
“We don’t want to make a profit out there. We just want to stop the bleeding of money. We’re just trying to break even and make it sustainable.”
Tim Kimmel, Washington County director of human services who has also been in charge of the Washington County Health Center since 2012, called the census at the facility “decent” at 255 Wednesday.
“We’re proud of our four-star facility,” Kimmel said. “We provide first-rate care.” He touted the center’s low hospital readmission rate, explaining that the federal government, in an attempt to contain the cost of health care, seeks to reduce the number of instances in which patients must return to a hospital within 30 days of discharge.
Another factor in the health center’s financial state is that industrywide trends emphasize home care rather than institutionalization, and many counties have privatized their nursing facilities.
“We are not looking at (privatization) now,” Maggi said Wednesday. “We are losing money every year – a large amount of money – and we are trying to stop that. It’s becoming very expensive to run it. It’s a great facility, but the reimbursements are more restricted by the state. We have to make sure we’re doing the best we can out there.”
Rank-and-file health center workers are members of the Service Employees International Union Healthcare Pennsylvania. Their contract expires at the end of this year, said Scott Fergus, Washington County director of administration.
The county has set a deadline of April 8 for proposals from consultants to be submitted to the controller’s office.
In another matter related to the health center, Kimmel asked the commissioners to approve a contract with Don Sigmund of Daylight Pictures to produce a 15-second promotional video spot that will play on all screens at the Regal Crown Center Stadium 14 along with other advertisements and previews.
“Our social service department has been asked to think outside the box,” he said, noting that the fee for making the promotional video, aimed at enticing potential residents, is included in the health center’s budget.