County will fight to keep Carrabelle Health Department open

County commissioners say they do not plan to let the health department in Carrabelle close its doors even though that decision may require the county to increase its funding for the state service. Health Department chief Wesley Tyce told the county commission last month that recent state budget cuts are forcing him to close the Carrabelle health department. His budget, he said, is already below where it legally should be, Health departments are supposed to keep 8 percent of the budget in reserve for emergencies, he said his current reserve is closer to 6 percent. The Carrabelle location was opened to meet a need for primary health care in Carrabelle, but now Weems Memorial has a clinic in the city that is meeting much of that need. Clerk of the court Marcia Johnson said if the Carrabelle location were to close, the county could then take over the building and use it for a new urgent care clinic in the city and likely still provide space for the health department to continue offering services. That would save the county money from having to build a new building for the urgent care clinic. She pointed out that with the county facing budget shortfalls of its own it would not be fiscally responsible for the county to provide additional funding for the health department which should be funded by the state. Franklin County already spends 126 thousand dollars a year for the health department or about 10.24 per person in the county. The county also pays 20 thousand dollars more for maintenance for the health department buildings and pays for the insurance for the buildings, vehicles and a boat. That’s well above what neighboring counties pay; in Gulf County it averages about 7.69 per person, Liberty County averages about 5.68 cents per person and Wakulla county budgets no money for its health department. Commissioners Cheryl Sanders and Bevin Putnal say the health department in Carrabelle is far too important to allow it to close. Putnal said he understands the Carrabelle site has seen nearly 2000 patients this year and if people need help he wants to help them. Sanders said we are going to keep this clinic open – and if we have to pay for it we are going to pay for it. The clerk of the court responded that the county may soon have other state agencies coming by looking for funding and unless the board is willing to raise taxes it might find itself telling county workers that they have to work harder and face continued hiring freezes while the county is paying for a department it doesn’t have to pay for. The conversation did get a bit heated before Commissioner Noah Lockley recommended that the board hold a workshop so the issue could be worked out. The board agreed to discuss the issue further on July the 21st, they expect to have health department officials at the workshop along with representatives of the local hospital, the City of Carrabelle and the county finance office.