By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post
The Ellis County Health Department could soon offer more services as the department prepares to move to its new location.
At a special work session Monday, the Ellis County Commission discussed adding a mid-level position to help the department grow in terms of services it offers.
Ellis County Director of Medical Services Kerry McCue said, in conversations he has had with county officials, the county would like to see the health department “blossom.”
“It’s pretty clear that next step for us would be a mid-level of some type,” he said, “whether that’s a nurse practitioner or a PA.”
McCue said there are services the department could offer if they were to make that addition.
“There are some opportunities that we’re missing,” he said, “that we could very easily capture that we’re not capturing because we don’t have that practitioner available to us.”
He pointed to sports and back-to-school physicals as two examples of services that used to be offered through the health department but have moved “out of our area into the physician’s office.”
Commissioners said they would be in favor of contracting with an individual, as opposed to hiring a person to fill the position until they get an idea of the potential.
“I like the idea of starting with a contractual person and see how it works,” Commissioner Barb Wasinger said. “Does it increase traffic? Is it growing, does it look like it’s feasible?”
Currently, the health department is housed at 601 Main but, in June, the commission approved the purchase of the Post Rock Building at 2507 Canterbury for the department. They hope to move into the facility by the end of the year.
McCue said he has already been contacted by people interested in working in a mid-level position for the county.
The health department is already partnering with First Call for Help, and Fort Hays State and other agencies have reached out to McCue about the possibility of working together.
In other business, the commission and a number of department heads who attended the meeting talked about the need to do a better job of retaining employees.
The commission also identified funding public works as a priority.
Commissioner Dean Haselhorst said he wants to make sure that money the county receives every year from the Buckeye Wind Farm is set aside for public works.
Haselhorst said there are a number of bridges and roads in the county that need, or are going to need, repaired in the future and that money could be used to help fund those projects.
The public works building is also in need of upgrades.
“There’s a lot we need to do,” Wasinger said. “I don’t think any other department would complain about it knowing that you guys really do need something done out there. It’s time.”