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Youngstown, Mahoning officials: Health merger information valuable
AUSTINTOWN
Youngstown and Mahoning County public health officials said information presented by Summit County Public Health Commissioner Gene Nixon about the recent health departments’ merger there will be valuable as a merger between the city and county district boards of health here is discussed and debated.
The meeting Wednesday, which included city and county health board members and other officials, was appropriate and helpful, said David J. Mannion, president of the Mahoning County General Health District Advisory Council.
“I sense that everybody is in search of the outcome most beneficial in providing public health services to the residents of Mahoning County,” Mannion said.
The informal meeting was good for the group at large to learn about the obstacles to the merger process but also see it can be done, said Erin Bishop, acting Youngstown health commissioner.
“I think the meeting set the stage very well for future conversations” about a possible merger, said Matthew Stefanak, outgoing Mahoning County District Board of Health commissioner.
“I am not here to promote merger. It is a local decision,” said Nixon.
The merger that is known as Summit County Public Health, which includes Summit County and the cities of Akron, Barberton and Cuyahoga Falls, has been in existence for about a year.
Nixon said the merger is working well, but its birth was not without barriers that had to be overcome; and there are still lessons to be learned.
He said it is important to get major community decision makers on board early in the process.
There needs to broad-based agreement for the process to succeed.
For instance, he said, William Considine, chief executive office of Akron Children’s Hospital and well-known and well- respected in the community, chaired a committee that led the merger effort.
“You need a ‘champion.’ Considine was our champion,” Nixon said.
Some things that need to be determined are: Is the agency fiscally strong enough to weather both expected and unanticipated costs associated with a merger, and is there sufficient leadership skills in the departments to make it work, Nixon said.
Contracts with unions and vendors; salary issues for staff doing the same job for different organizations, and fee schedules, are among things that need to be worked out.
But, Nixon said, the key question that needs to be asked and answered is “why.” Why merge.
There may not be immediate financial savings, though there may be more opportunities to attract grant money on a regional basis than individually.
The real issue is if through merger public health services can be better delivered to the community.
“I think merging was a good decision for our community,” Nixon said.