The Union County Health Department (UCHD) is looking to see how it can extend its grant funding for its reproductive health clinics in Marion.
During a board of health meeting Wednesday, UCHD director of nursing Joyce Richmond reported the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) “threw us a big curveball” on its grant funding for the UCHD’s reproductive health program in Marion. She said the funding helps the department host clinics at the Marion County Health Department with assistance from the county.
“We felt that the funding formula and how they decided to change the formula after they already approved and given us that grant award is not fair representation for the Marion County site,” Richmond said. “That was the lowest funded grant in all the counties.”
She said the funding formula changes were based on population, ultimately decided by the federal government, but also because of perceived demand for its services.
Richmond said the Marion clinics served 23 people from April 2017 to September 2017. However, the clinics served 233 people between September 2017 to August 2018.
Richmond said she’s reached out to the women’s and family health service division of ODH to restore its original grant funding to help accommodate for the large influx of people requesting services.
“We wrote that instead of receiving $16,710 for funding, it should be restored back to $31,109,” Richmond said.
She said the health department has established itself as an important fixture in Marion.
UCHD health commissioner Jason Orcena said the clinics are not funded by Union County dollars, and it’s only funded by the grant and whatever they charge for fees up there.
He said this is a clinic held in partnership with Marion County, and is a part of its other regional clinics. He said the department has been actively seeking to set up partnerships with counties that have population overlap with Union County. The Marion facility will be run by both Union and Marion county health department officials.
“If the grant dollars dry up, either Marion County or some combination of funds from Marion County would have to provide that service,” Orcena said. “If they wanted us there, they would have to find a way to fund us to be there, but we would have to close down the clinic if no funds were available.”
He said the UCHD would have to cut services it provides to Marion County if the funding diminishes.
Also in the meeting, the health department accepted a grant for from ODH for maintaining and increasing the rates of childhood and adolescent immunization rates in the county for $61,763. Orcena said it’s mostly about educating physicians about what vaccines and programs are available for children.
The money comes with a catch: the UCHD has to partner with the Morrow County Health Department to receive the money. Union County gets $32,806 and Morrow County gets $28,957.
Orcena said the department created the partnership because the state imposes a minimum funding threshold. If a department is only eligible for a certain amount of money but doesn’t meet the threshold for a grant, a health department has to partner with another one to receive the funding, which is then split among each other.
“It’s their money, but they contact us and we give them a portion of the grant,” Orcena said.
He said this is a grant the UCHD applies for annually, but this is either the second or third time it has applied.
Also at the meeting:
-Marcia Dreiseidel, UCHD director of environmental health, reported the free tire collection day on Oct. 13 went very well. The health department, partnering with Liberty Tire Recycling, was able to fill one of its two semi-trucks with old tires provided by residents, and the other one was nearly full. This was part of an effort to reduce the number of possible mosquito breeding grounds available in the county.
The board of health will meet again at 7:30 a.m. Nov. 14.