Lyon County commissioners had only a few items on their agenda during this week’s only meeting on Thursday.
Lougene Marsh, executive director of the Flint Hills Community Health Center/Lyon County Health Department, gave commissioners a quarterly report and also talked about the state’s 2009 budget and its possible effect on the health center. Marsh said as the budget stands before vote on the state level, the center would sustain a $25,000 budget cut for the primary-care clinic. This represents about 5.5 percent of the state funding for primary care. Marsh also expressed concern over the local Environmental Protection Program, which could take a $20,000 reduction. Marsh said that amount is not quite half of a sanitarian’s salary.
“It’s also a concern because we all know what our level of concern should be for the protection of water in the state,” Marsh said.
Marsh said the reduction for the Environmental Protection Program also is proposed for the 2010 budget.
Marsh said the center gave about 400 fewer flu shots this season than last season. She said she was unsure what caused the decline but one factor could be the fact that Newman Regional Health had its drive-through flu clinic before the health department’s clinic.
“Is that the reason?” Marsh said. “I don’t know. But it is what it is.”
In other business, commissioners authorized a purchase for Community Corrections for a laptop and docking station for up to $2,600.