LAURINBURG – Scotland County may be a step closer to having a consolidated Health and Human Services Board after the Board of Health voted in favor of combining the two boards.
The decision was made following a presentation by County Manager Kevin Patterson as to what the move would mean for them and county employees.
“Right now the two departments are the ginger stepchildren of the state. They get to do everything the state doesn’t want to do,” Patterson said. “This takes them a step away from the state and puts them more as a true county department.”
Patterson said that under the proposed model, the social services and health departments would report to one board, not the county commissioners. He suggested that both boards be combined to form the Health and Human Services Board giving that board all of the responsibilities of both boards.
Patterson also reminded the Health Board that it had more duties and legal requirements than the social services board who handles fraud and appeals for Department of Social Services concerning benefits.
Combining the two boards would require the appointment of a Consolidated Health and Human Services director in charge of hiring and firing directors for both departments. Patterson is proposing that he fill the position in the interim with possibly April Snead, director for DSS or Kristin Patterson, director or the Health Department taking the position at some point.
The board voted 11 to 7 in favor of the measure with four abstaining.
A committee to explore ideas and come up with suggestions on how the task might be accomplished was created.
Members Nicole Monroe, Nursing Representative; Diane Beane, Public Member; Charles Todd, Pharmacy Represenative, and Kristen Patterson were asked to meet and compile suggestions by the time the Health Board meets again in August.
Dr. Mike Labib, veterinary representative to the board said he refrained from voting because he felt he did not have enough information.
“The picture was not clear in front of me,” Labib said. “I have served on this board for three years, and as vet, I understand animal control and how that affects public health, but about DSS I can tell you zero.”
Labib said he was neither for consolidation or against it.
“What will be my duty as a board member of DSS?” Labib said. “I can understand saving money; I can understand the issues with hiring and firing, but what does the consolidate board do how does its vote affect the county?”
Labib suggested taking a general consensus of the board members to see how the idea was received, but the survey evolved into a vote.
Under the current system the departments are mandated to receive approval from the state before advertising an open position, hiring an employee or changing the job description for a positon.
With the new system, that would be done locally.
Patterson also told the board that the new system would allow both departments to work together to streamline the application process for clients.
“There’s a benefit here because a lot of the clients you have in the health department are very similar to the ones they have in DSS,” Patterson said. “Someone one who comes in for maternal health and you know they’re going to qualify for Medicaid, but they have to leave here, go down the hall and get an appointment to apply for Medicaid.”
Patterson said the new plan would allow both departments to allocate a certain amount of time to enroll the person for Medicaid.
He also said the two departments would better be able to work together on areas where their strategic plans overlap.
The merger would also affect the appeal policy for employee grievances.
Currently, if a director issues a decision, it can be appealed to Patterson, but his decision is not final. The employee can hire an attorney and appeal to the state office of human resources; under the new system Patterson’s decision would be final.
“Since I’ve been manager over the last 10 years, I’ve handled appeals less than a dozen times,” Patterson said.
Labib was not the only member with questions.
“If we do this and find out it’s not working for the county, can we go back to where we are now,” one member asked.
Patterson said that of the 33 counties had gone to the system only one had experienced problems, but those were handled by restructuring the board.
Patterson will not receive extra compensation for taking on the role of the Consolidated Health and Human Services director and he does not have a specific timeline for selecting a CHHS director once a decision is made. Officila have niot said what the salary for the new director would be.
The county said a final decision on consolidation may not come until the end of summer.
“This is not going to be a quick process, and we want to make sure things go relatively smooth and make sure that April and Kristin are not overwhelmed,” Patterson said.
The DSS board met to discuss the proposed change earlier in the month but wanted more clarity on the merger.