Board addresses clinic financial issues, analyses

June 14, 2007

Wahkiakum County commissioners are looking for advice and analysis for operating the Wahkiakum Family Practice Clinic.

The county acquired the clinic from PeaceHealth 2.5 years ago when that organization planned to close it.

Commissioners expected to have to subsidize the clinic, but the deficit has been much higher than anticipated and is projected at $250,000 this year.

On Tuesday, Commissioners George Trott, Tom Doumit and Dan Cothren voted to contract with consultants Derry, Nolan and Associates to an analysis of clinic operations.

Goals of the study will be to identify ways to improve productivity, team redesign, redundant or non-value-added processes, and appropriate staff ratios.

Anticipated cost of the analysis ranges up to $7,130.

The firm has had good success in a similar project in Clallam County, Trott said.

The commissioners also agreed to scrap plans for an advisory election on a potential hospital district, and they agreed to form a clinic advisory committee.

The board had planned to run the advisory ballot on the primary election, but Auditor Diane Tischer, also chief elections officer, said there are no other primary election measures or races, and if the commissioners want to run the advisory ballot, the county would have pay the entire cost of the election, about $6,000, instead of sharing it with other entities.

The board had intended to ask voters’ whether or not they would support the formation of a hospital district to operate the clinic. If there was support, they intended to put a measure to form the district on the general election ballot. That later measure would have included taxing authority and election to the hospital district board of directors.

The commissioners decided Tuesday they would skip the advisory ballot for the primary election.

Doumit said that by waiting, the board could see if a proposed fundraising campaign by the Wahkiakum Community Foundation could get off the ground. In the meantime, “I’m confident we can find the money to cover the shortfall for 2007 and 2008,” he said.

“I’m confident philanthropy will cover the costs for this year and quite probably the next, so we have time to put something together,” Doumit said.

“I’m real concerned,” Cothren replied. “Where do we get the money? If it runs out of money, then it’s cut; we don’t fund it.”

Doumit reminded the board that in the two public meetings they hosted on the clinic, few people wanted to see it closed; most people wanted it to stay open, and thus, closing the clinic shouldn’t be considered as an option, Doumit said.

“It’s not going to close on my watch,” he said. “We will figure some way to make it work.”

The commissioners also agreed it would be a good idea to form an advisory committee on the clinic, a suggestion that arose in the community meetings.

They said they would collect names and contact potential members.