 |
UHS
Dental Clinic to Close; Staff to Pitch Plan to Preserve Service
Prompted by a consultant's report about financial problems within University Health Services, campus officials announced last week that the dental clinic will close on July 1. The clinic employs seven staff. The shutdown of the clinic, according to Javier Cevallos, interim vice chancellor for Student Affairs, "should put UHS on a better financial footing." "This is one step in an overall action plan to address some of the issues raised in the consultant's report," said Cevallos. "This is a very difficult decision that in no way reflects the level of care and commitment shown by our staff. The University very much appreciates their dedication and service." In other action, the campus also proposed that student health fees be reduced by 10 percent in the coming year, with a targeted reduction in the basic health fee of 33 percent. In a 55-page report released last month, Nolan & Bober Associates, Inc., a health systems consulting firm from Portland and Somers, Conn., proposed funding alternatives and possible service changes within UHS. That report found that as health care and reimbursement methods have changed, insurance payments to UHS began to lag behind costs. The result, said Cevallos, is that in recent years student fees have made up for costs not fully paid by insurance carriers. The report's conclusions spurred the UHS executive team to propose the shutdown of the dental facility, which lost $260,000 last year, according to UHS director Bernette Melby. But employees of the clinic and union representatives say the blame lies not with Dental Services, but with UHS management. They said this week that repeated proposals to improve financial arrangements with dental insurance plans, increase efficiency and streamline services have been either ignored or rebuffed. Kathy Rhines, Radiology manager at UHS and a steward with Local 509, Service Employees International Union, criticized the handling of the announcement, which clinic employees said was common knowledge across campus before they were informed of the decision. Rhines also said the current fiscal problems could have been headed off years ago. "This has been going on for five years," she said. "We all knew about this. We haven't been able to go forward with a proposal for change." At least part of the dental clinic's woes can be attributed to low reimbursement rates by dental plans for employees, said office manager Bev Mayer, who has worked at the facility for 27 years. Because UHS was a closed plan site for dental insurance, she said, the clinic was hindered in its attempts to attract more patients. Staff dentist Grace Collura said, "We asked for a renegotiation [of the contracts], but it fell on deaf ears." Mayer said the clinic has also been understaffed for several years, further inhibiting the department's ability to break even financially. Those decisions by UHS management, said Rhines, set the dental clinic up for failure. "It's not fair if staff don't have the tools to succeed," she said. Melby acknowledged that various issues at the dental clinic had been raised in the past, but that some of the problems were simply "unresolvable." Melby agreed that staffing and insurance contributed to the financial losses at the clinic, but that many factors were weighed in the closure decision. "When we look at all the pieces, I'm not sure that they could cover all their costs." But a labor coalition plans to examine the feasibility of keeping the clinic open, said Rhines. Union representatives hope to put forward an action plan for the service. Both Cevallos and Melby said they would be open to reviewing such a plan. But such a plan, said Cevallos, would be tantamount to privatizing the clinic, since the service would be operated on a contract basis. Citing concerns in the Nolan & Bober study, Cevallos said the current dental facilities might not be adequate to cover operating costs. Meanwhile, clinic staff are concerned about their patients, 7,500 of whom trooped through the doors last year. Staff dentist Preetmohinder Singh Bagga said many students don't have transportation available to take them to local dentists. "We see 10 to 14 emergencies daily," said Mayer. "Where are they going to go? Community dentists can't handle that kind of load." Bagga and Rhines also questioned whether UHS management is drifting away from its mission of public service. "We're asked to work like the private sector, but we can't operate that way," said Bagga. "It goes against the reason the clinic was opened." Over the next few months, said Melby, UHS will assist the clinic staff and patients with the transition to other facilities. But at least one clinic staffer isn't ready for a transition. Dentist Grace Collura said she joined the clinic 15 months ago because she was impressed with the staff's dedication and commitment to quality care. Collura said is committed to finding an alternative. "We're not giving up. This clinic can work." |
||
|
|
