The Geauga Board of Well being has voted unanimously to enter into a cross-jurisdictional agreement with the Lake County Basic Well being District to serve as a staffing agency for Geauga Public Well being.
The agreement will save Geauga County residents as a lot as $600,000 annually in well being solutions expenses, although keeping all the solutions they at present obtain at Geauga Public Well being, according to a news release.
“This is not a takeover and it is not a merger,” Geauga Public Well being Board President Richard Piraino stated in the release. “Lake County Basic Well being District will serve as a staffing agency for Geauga.
“Our agreement with Lake is the greatest way for Geauga to retain handle of the well being solutions we offer our residents although saving these residents considerable dollars every single year.”
The agreement requires impact on April three. Mainly because Lake County Basic Well being District will be giving staffing going forward, 17 Geauga Public Well being workers will be laid off as of March 31. They will be capable to apply with Lake County Basic Well being District to provide these staffing solutions, but no 1 is assured a position, the release stated.
“We know this is painful for our Geauga Public Well being workers, and we’re really sorry for that. GPH is facing a spending budget shortfall of more than $500,000 in 2024, and we had to make a incredibly tricky selection,” Piraino mentioned in the release. “We have worked diligently to obtain the greatest option, and we are getting into this agreement to assure we can continue giving the people today we serve in Geauga County with the solutions they have to have and deserve.”
All Geauga Public Well being representatives, no matter whether GPH workers or contracted Lake workers, will continue functioning on behalf of and at the path of the Geauga Board of Well being, according to the release. The Geauga Board of Well being, appointed by elected Geauga officials, will continue to handle GPH policies, applications and solutions and will continue to problem its personal permits, retain its autos, workplace, web-site and its identity.
“Geauga residents will continue to go to the exact same locations to obtain the exact same solutions,” Piraino stated. “None of that will modify.”
Mainly because of the agreement in between the well being districts, the combined populations of the two counties will open the possibility to apply for bigger grants, which are vital for funding well being departments, unavailable to Geauga or Lake on its personal, the release stated. And the efficiencies that will be gained provide positive aspects to the two well being departments and residents of each counties.
The positive aspects, according to the Geauga Board of Well being, consist of:
• Gaining access to added applications such as outreach solutions for the reason that of elevated access to grant funding sources
• Cutting the expense of public well being solutions to residents by funding some existing applications by means of qualifying grants
• Sharing specialty employees, such as in the locations of information evaluation, accreditation, neighborhood wants assessment, emergency preparedness, finance, and grant writing
• Enhanced coordination for emergency response and public well being emergencies.
“It is clear that we can be stronger with each other and additional fiscally accountable to Geauga County residents,” Piraino stated.
