Village looks at changing health services provider

By Dave Fidlin

Correspondent

While all options still remain on the table, the Village of Union Grove might be seeking a new provider next year for critical health department functions.

Members of the Village Board’s Administration and Finance Committee met last week to continue discussion of the much-scrutinized issue, which bubbled to the surface about six months ago as concerns about cost and level of service were raised.

Like many of its neighboring municipalities, Union Grove currently contracts with the Western Racine County Health Department for an array of mandatory services, ranging from restaurant inspections to flu immunization clinics.

But the village’s agreement with Burlington-based WRCHD expires Dec. 31, and officials might go in a different direction in an effort to keep costs down.

WRCHD reportedly billed the village $31,513 in 2011, and village officials are aiming to contract with a provider at a lesser dollar amount.

“A new contract is possible,” said Village trustee Gordon Svendsen, who chairs the committee. “We might be going a different route, but we’ll need to see what all the members (of the board) have to say about this.”

Svendsen said the committee will hold one final meeting in July, in advance of the regular Village Board meeting, to hash over any last-minute details. Afterward, the full Village Board is expected to discuss the issue in detail and could make a final decision on how to proceed.

“We should know what direction we might be going at that point,” Svendsen said.

While the issue remains up in the air, there is some certainty about health services. State law requires all municipalities have an agreement in place with a health department to handle public health issues.

There is some flexibility in the array of services offered by a health department, though the state requires some uniformity. For example, all departments must inspect commercial food establishments and develop enforceable plans to address communicable disease outbreaks, should any occur.

Most counties have a joint health department servicing all residents, making Racine County an anomaly. As its name suggests, the WRCHD serves municipalities on the western end.

Another organization, the Central Racine County Health Department, located in Franksville, services residents on the opposite end of the county. The City of Racine has its own department.