Thursday, June 28, 2012
YOUNGSTOWN
The possible merger of the Youngstown and Mahoning County health departments has gotten to the money-commitment stage.
The city, which supports its health department with general-fund revenue, will pay up to half the cost of a $5,000 short-term study on the merger, said Mayor Charles Sammarone.
For its part, the Mahoning County District Board of Health on Wednesday authorized Health Commissioner Patricia Sweeney to seek grant money to pay its share of the study.
The study would identify potential “deal-breaker” issues. Once that is done, the consultant will bring the results to the Public Health Shared Services Feasibility Committee, which has members representing the city and county health boards, Sweeney said.
It’s another step toward getting the information needed to determine where it can go, Sammarone said of the sharing of public-health services.
Assuming the recommendation is to go forward, the second phase would be a full-blown feasibility study such as Summit County recently went through, the mayor said.
“At that time, we’ll see what the cost of a study would be and if we can come up with a way to fund it,” Sammarone said.
“We are definitely on board and committed to the exploratory process,” said Erin Bishop, acting city health commissioner.
The options, Sweeney said, are to continue sharing some services as is being done; contract with each other for more shared services; or consolidation.
“This is the best opportunity we have ever had for shared services. We are proceeding in a deliberate, thoughtful manner,” she added.