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CEOs to testify they support Kane Co. Health Department reorganization

CEOs of health care agencies called upon to pick up Kane County's caseload if the health department cuts programs will testify Tuesday that they are willing and able to pick up the slack.

The testimony will occur at a meeting of the Kane County Board's Public Health Committee as part of a major push to convince elected officials a reorganization of the health department is a good idea. The CEOs are expected to testify that they are not only able, but eager, to take on the 6,000 low-income mothers and babies who use the county health department for access to the Medicaid system and prenatal care.

"The transition is going to be pretty much seamless," said Paul Kuehnert, the health department's executive director. Kuehnert said the private organizations taking over the health department's caseload will just grow their businesses as they already have been for the past 18 months to accommodate the additional caseload. Federal dollars will help fund any new personnel the organizations may hire to handle the added work, Kuehnert said. That may even include hiring some of the 62 health department employees who would lose their jobs in the health department's reorganization.

The Visiting Nurse Association of Fox Valley, the Greater Elgin Family Care Center and Aunt Martha's Youth Service Center are the organizations the county began negotiating with to take over the caseload in recent weeks. The county board tabled discussion of the health department reorganization for 30 days at its last meeting. The delay was designed to give state lawmakers and AFSCME union officials a chance to find $1.5 million in overdue state payments to the county.

But Kuehnert and Kane County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay pitched the reorganization Monday as the future of public health care no matter what size check state lawmakers produce at this point.

"The financial ramifications of continuing on the path that we are currently on begin to threaten our core mission and our core responsibility to the people of Kane County," McConnaughay said. "There are 6,000 families who continue to need services and should receive services. It is more appropriate for them to receive services through the federally-qualified health centers. The unfortunate implication means, in that shift, some jobs may be eliminated. The most important issue is to continue to provide services to mothers and children."

The Public Health Committee meets at 9 a.m. in the county board room of the Kane County Government Center in Geneva.