Stanislaus County Clinics Look for More Federal Funds
The Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday restructured the county Community Health Center Board in order to apply for federally designated status for its clinics, the Modesto Bee reports.
The federal status would allow the county to receive full annual reimbursements worth $3 million for treating Medi-Cal and Medicare beneficiaries, who comprise about 60% to 70% of patients at the six county clinics. Medi-Cal is California's Medicaid program.
Supervisors last summer created the county health center board to secure a community health center designation from the federal government. The board's responsibilities and appointees were governed by the supervisors.
However, the supervisors were forced to revise the structure of the board to comply with federal guidelines.
Mary Ann Lee, director of the Health Services Agency, said that under the revised structure, the board will appoint nine of its 11 members and will have full responsibility over financial priorities and strategy (Moran, Modesto Bee, 2/8).
Also in Stanislaus County this week, hospitals considered diverting some ambulances to San Joaquin County facilities because of an overflow of patients, the Modesto Bee reports. However, officials dismissed the idea after discovering that hospitals in San Joaquin County also were full.
Hospitals experienced high volumes of patients suffering from seasonal respiratory illnesses, along with asthma, chronic lung disease and cardiac illness, according to the Bee (Carlson, Modesto Bee, 2/9).