Fewer public health nurses will work at the Fresno County Jail and juvenile justice campus under a
cost-cutting plan g approved Tuesday by county supervisors.
Faced with a loss of state revenue because of the slumping economy, supervisors need to make up a $1.6 million shortfall in the Department of Public Health. Earlier this month, they approved part of a budget-cutting plan that scaled back services in the department.
On Tuesday, they made even more cuts. But county officials warned they may not be done.
"The unfortunate thing is we'll probably be here again," board Chairman Henry Perea said. "The revenues will likely go down next year, too."
The county relies on state sales tax and vehicle license fees to pay for health services. Those revenues are lagging this fiscal year, which began July 1.
Supervisors have struggled for two months to reduce health services. Tuesday marked the fourth time that Dr. Ed Moreno, director of the Public Health Department, came before the Board of Supervisors with a proposal for reducing costs in his department. Previously, supervisors balked at his suggestion to cut the night medical shifts in the jail and juvenile justice campus, saying the cuts would shift costs to other county departments.
On Tuesday, Moreno proposed to continue night shifts in both facilities, but to reduce the number of nurses working in the jail at night and shorten the time nurses staff the juvenile hall in the evenings. He also proposed cutting another three nursing positions at juvenile hall and reducing the staff at a health clinic, which may lead to longer waits for patients.
Supervisors agreed to that proposal, deleting a total of 19 positions. Of those positions, eight are vacant and 11 are filled.
Moreno said the department will likely find jobs for seven of the employees. Another four will receive pink slips as of Nov. 17, but Moreno said they could be transferred to vacant jobs in other departments.
Some of the nurses and other medical personnel who work the night shift in the jail attended Tuesday's meeting and pleaded with supervisors not to cut their jobs. They said the cuts being proposed will jeopardize the health and safety of jail inmates.
"I don't think what they're proposing is doable," said Peggy Dockum, a licensed vocational nurse. "It would be like closing a major wing of a hospital."
County supervisors acknowledged the value of the work done by the medical staff in the jail, but said their options are limited.
"I do this sadly because I don't like to reduce services," Supervisor Judy Case said. "But I realize we have a $1.6 million hole to fill."
Supervisor Susan Anderson was the only one to vote against the cuts. She said reducing the number of nurses in the jail and juvenile hall could end up costing the county more money.
"This will increase the liability to the county," she said. "We will have cases where we're going to pay out hundreds of thousands of dollars because we're not doing what we're supposed to be doing by law."
But public health administrators assured the supervisors that they will still have the staff in the evenings to provide basic medical services to jail inmates and juvenile offenders.
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