Four county departments proposed to merge
| Thursday, Oct 15 2009 04:32 PM
Last Updated Thursday, Oct 15 2009 04:32 PM
Kern County government may experience a major health care merger next week.
Supervisors will be asked Tuesday to blend four county departments into a single health-oriented organization under the direction of new Public Health Director Matt Constantine.
It's hoped the move will save at least $400,000 a year and improve county health services.
No one is proposed to be laid off.
A plan released Thursday would combine Public Health, Environmental Health, Emergency Medical Services and Animal Control and create a Health Services Agency.
Environmental Health and Animal Control would move out of the county's other mega-department, the Resource Management Agency.
Ted James, interim RMA director, has also been asked by supervisors to rework his department.
He said the new Health Services Agency is a logical move.
"I think it will happen smoothly. The inclusion of Environmental Health and Animal Control in that agency makes functional sense. We have a great working relationship," James said.
The fourth department, Emergency Medical Services, is an eight-employee, stand-alone department that regulates ambulance companies and other emergency response agencies.
Supervisor Ray Watson, one of two supervisors on a committee finding ways to streamline county government, said the four departments may work better together than they do apart.
"It's not just a matter of money. It's a matter of effectiveness as well," Watson said. "They all have things in common in terms of protecting public health."
When departments with common missions operate in different "silos of authority," he said, they have trouble communicating well with each other -- and giving a complete picture of a situation to the public.
While the structure inside the four departments will not immediately change, Constantine said, the move will allow him to build in new efficiencies.
For example, he said, Environmental Health and Public Health individually respond to food borne illness outbreaks. Environmental Health visits restaurants to make sure health standards are being maintained and Public Health reacts to illness outbreaks.
If staff from the two departments team up, Constantine said the county could move from simply responding to an outbreak to getting ahead of outbreaks.
In addition, Constantine argued, there could be direct cost savings from merging basic operational functions of each department such as in the clerical, fiscal, information technology and promotional outreach fields.
The county will immediately save money by not replacing him as head of Environmental Health. And Emergency Medical Services could be moved into the Public Health building from a small building south of the railroad tracks in downtown Bakersfield.
