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| Knox County Board of Health Concerned About Federal Stimulus, State Funding, State Health Legislation |
The Knox County Board of Health has concerns over the economic crisis that the state and country are currently involved in.
The board Thursday night expressed their concerns with future funding and grants not being at appropriate levels. The board also heard about concerns with a ripple effect in terms of staffing and dealing with state agencies.
Knox County Health Department Administrator Greg Chance says bills are being introduced in the state legislature that don't have to do with the economic crisis but they do have an impact on public health. "There's quite a bit of activity in relationship to the Communicable Disease Code," Chance said. "Two bills introduced during the last General Assembly session were not successful in being passed."
One the pieces of legislation Chance spoke about was an issue of expedited partner therapy, which provides physicians, if they so desire, the ability prescribe medications to people whose partners have been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease, without seeing the patient. Chance says some doctors may be uncomfortable with this but says it's not a mandate and it just provides opportunity.
Chance also told the board all fiscal and budgetary matters at the state level has been pushed back a month. A lot of the grant budgets, he says, will be dependent on what comes to Illinois from the federal stimulus bill.
Chance says a lot of health care initiatives that he was personally excited about have been pulled from the stimulus bill. He says they will have to wait and see what happens after the smoke clears. |
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| 02 13 09 by Newsroom |
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